Scouting the Hidden Woods
by Saosof Ghost
Summary: The story takes place starting when Ginny is 9. A mentoring fic between Ginny and Lupin. Warning, story contains Spanking in many/most chapters later on. Don't like don't read.
1. A Glimmer of Something Bright

_So this is my first story, and I'm really nervous to be posting it. I first and foremost want to make sure readers understand this story involves **spanking** of a minor in many or most chapters a little later on. If you are offended by this or don't like it, please save yourself and me the frustration and don't read it, and please no flames complaining about corporal punishment. All complaints about this will be ignored._

_I came up with this story from a dream I had one night. I wrote it down and it will become a much later chapter if this story makes it that far. _

_It starts the year before Harry goes to Hogwarts, when Ginny is only 9. But without anymore from me, here is the first chapter. _

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><p><strong>Ch 1, A glimmer of something bright<strong>

With a loud and annoyed sigh, Ginny slumped on her bed. This year was going to be just as boring as last year. Ever since Fred and George had started school last year, things at the burrow had been more boring than she could have imagined.

Seeing Fred, George, Charlie, and even Percy off had not been easy. As always she was going to miss them terribly, and wished she was old enough to go to Hogwarts as well. But she was still only nine, and still had another two years to wait.

Still there was Ron still at home, and he was at least someone to talk to. But Ron wasn't as fun to spend time with as Charlie or her older twin brothers. She couldn't wait for summer vacation.

"Ginny, Ron," Mrs. Weasly called from downstairs. "I don't see your writing exercises for today."

Ginny sighed again and slowly walked out of the room. The reason her mum was not seeing any writing exercises was because she had not done any writing exercises for the day. She had hoped to get away with it, since it was only the first day of term.

It was common for wizarding families to teach basic things like reading, writing, math, and good penmanship with a quill to be ready for school. Wizarding families didn't usually send their children to public schools, there was just too much risk of being discovered. But this bland kind of home-schooling certainly didn't make life more interesting. Really it was like a punishment, just like having to write lines over and over.

After some simple school work it was Ginny's chore to feed the chickens, then she would usually steal an old broom stick or go for a walk. She wasn't really allowed to do this, but her mother rarely found out. The few times she ever had been caught, Ginny could just pretend to be very sorry and sad. She was her mother's only daughter, and was able to get away with almost anything.

Half an hour later, Ginny had stolen Bill's old broom and was soaring above the miles of forest. She had to say she felt like she had been getting pretty good at flying. It was her dream to play quidditch at school, just like Charlie had.

A glimmer of something very bright and shiny caught Ginny's eye and attention. She made an about turn and dove into the woods. As she got closer, the glimmer seemed to be something gold and alive. When she reached the ground, she discovered a baby unicorn struggling to get up, while an old looking man was bent over trying to calm the terrified creature.

Very slowly and quietly, Ginny approached the two. The beautiful little foal looked very sick for some reason. "Is it going to be alright," she softly asked the man.

Startled, he quickly turned around to look at her. "Where did you come from," he asked, not unkindly.

"I was just out to go flying, and I noticed this unicorn. She doesn't look very good, is there any way I can help?" Ginny had loved animals for a long time. Going out in the woods to try and spot nifflers, pixies, or even the rare occasional unicorn was one of Ginny's favorite things to do with Charlie when he was still at home.

"Actually," the man said slowly, "there is a way you can help. She is too afraid of me to let me help her right now because… um, because I'm a man. But if you can sit next to her and try talking to her you may be able to calm her down."

"Sure," Ginny said quickly. Her and the man switched places. "What's wrong with her though," she asked, softly stroking the baby's short glowing main.

"Baby unicorns are like baby humans. She wondered away from her mother, and ate a toxic plant she shouldn't have. It has obviously made her very sick. I know the spell to cure her, but she needs to be somewhat calm to have any effect."

Ginny gently murmured to the foal, and gradually she noticed her breathing slow and her eyes become softer. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man take out his wand and mutter something she couldn't hear. Suddenly the unicorn jumped up, nearly making Ginny fall backwards, and galloped away.

"It was lucky for me you came here when you did. I've had a few other similar situations and I couldn't save the animal. I'm Remus Lupin by the way," he held out his hand.

"Ginny Weasly," she said shaking it. With a closer look at his face Ginny noticed he didn't seem as old as he looked.

"Oh, so you're a Weasly. I've meet both your parents," Lupin said. "You live just up the hill a few miles don't you?"

Ginny nodded, it didn't surprise her that he knew of her family. Most witches and wizards anywhere around the area did. "Do you do this kind of thing often?" she asked interestedly.

"Yes, you could say it's my job," Lupin said quietly. "I search around these areas for any sick or hurt magical creatures, or bury dead ones, or remove any other magical item that might be somewhere it shouldn't. This is all to keep muggles from discovering us. I've even had to erase a few memories."

"That's really cool," Ginny said. "Please, can I help you? I have nothing to do at home, and I'm not old enough for school. I live really close by, and I can help you with things like other unicorns who might also be afraid of you. I think I might even like to have a job like this as my career when I graduate" Ginny said this all very fast.

Lupin only looked at her for a moment. "I don't think you want this job," he said softly. "It pays very little, and is only meant as a side job."

"Don't you have another job then?"

"No, I've been trying, but it's difficult for me to get employment."

"Why doesn't anyone hire you?" Ginny asked. Now that she looked at what he was wearing, you probably couldn't call him rich. His clothes were horribly stained and torn. And his skin was pail and thin. He looked like he didn't see much good food every day.

Lupin didn't answer the question, and instead shook his head. "Would you like to come with me to my house? We can discuss the possibility of you helping me."

"Really? I might be able to help?" Ginny was nearly skipping as she followed Lupin through the trees.

When Ginny saw where Lupin lived, she couldn't help but feel a little sad for him. It was just a small log cabin type structure that looked like it was barely big enough for one person to live in. "You live way out here in the middle of the woods?"

"Yes, I have to live away from other people right now because of my work," Lupin said the last few words slowly. Ginny had the feeling Lupin was hiding something from her, but didn't think too much of it. "I've sometimes moved from time to time, but right now I'm pretty comfortable in this area of this forest."

"Is there a place I can put my broom?"

"you can bring it inside and stick it in the corner next to mine," Lupin said.

Lupin's broom looked even older and more used than Ginny's. Ginny felt like she couldn't feel so bad about how little money her family had after seeing Lupin.

Lupin sat at the tiny table, and Ginny sat in the only other chair across from him. "Now, if you're serious about helping me, I do have a few extremely important rules that I must insist you follow. This sort of work can be risky, especially for a young girl without even having a wand yet."

"Of course," Ginny said.

"First, you need to do anything I tell you to, when I tell you to. Any little instruction I give you, from when to do something, or how far to walk needs to be followed exactly. That could even mean I tell you to go home because something is too dangerous for you to be around, or I may tell you to sit still and quiet while I check on something that could be harmful. I'm going to need your full respect and honesty. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Ginny said, looking straight into Lupin's dark kind eyes.

"I also want you to get permission from your parents before you come back here tomorrow. You are allowed to be out of the house right now, and your mother knows you not home right?

"Yes," Ginny said as strongly as she could. She was used to lying to her mother all the time to get away with things, but for some reason it was harder to do with Lupin.

Lupin gave her a skeptical hard look that made her squirm slightly. "Make sure you get permission to continue coming here," He said again, and Ginny let out an inward sigh of relief that Lupin seemed to have let it pass, even if he might not believe her. She didn't know why, but he made her uncomfortable when she was doing something she shouldn't.

"And this is the last rule Ginny, But I can't stress how important this is. It is by far the most important rule I want you to follow. You are to never ever come here on any night after dark. If you come to this area of the woods for any reason, or to see me, you are not going to be allowed to work with me again. Do you understand that rule?"

"Yes, I won't come here after dark," Ginny repeated politely.

Lupin smiled gently. "I'll be glad to have some assistance and company every day of the week if you're able to. My busiest hours are from ten to three. Are you able to be here at those times?"

"Yes, and I can't wait. It should give me something to do," Ginny said smiling. Those were the times her mom was most busy with house work, shopping, would write letters to her brothers at school, or even meet with her father in town for lunch. She would be able to sneak away easily.


	2. Caught Sneaking

_I realized I forgot my disclaimer in the last chapter, so here goes. I do not own any parts of the Harry Potter universe including the characters. I am only borrowing them for some fun :)_

_But aside from that, thanks for the reviews and here is chapter 2!_

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><p>Ch 2 Caught Sneaking<p>

Ginny had been right in her assumption that she would be able to sneak out of the house. She didn't talk much to her mother during the day, since she was usually busy with some kind of work. Any discussions she usually had with her parents were during dinner time after her father came home. She knew she would be back before then.

Of course she did tell Ron all about what she was doing and where she was going. She knew Ron could cover for her. All her siblings had covered for each other one time or another.

At nine-thirty Ginny walked casually past the living room, where her mother was beginning to knit her first Christmas sweater of the year, and walked outside. She grabbed the broom, and was off to her first of something interesting.

She found Lupin's small cabin fairly quickly, and found him writing notes on a small notebook just outside his door. He looked up as she landed.

"Good you're here. You can put your broom inside and we can be off. You did ask you parents to be able to come here each day, right?" he asked looking into her eyes.

"Yes, they said I can come," Ginny said, struggling to continue looking back in his eyes. It was still so darn hard to lie to him. It was always so easy with her mother.

There was a short uncomfortable silence. He can't know I'm lying, Ginny thought nervously. But Lupin looked back at his notes and continued writing. "Alright then."

Ginny sighed again and ran inside to put her broom away. She didn't want to risk asking her mother's permission for something like this. Ginny had known her mom to be too protective, and she couldn't bare the possibility of having to pass up an opportunity like this. There was also the fact she wasn't sure if she was allowed to be flying on her own. All her brothers had been allowed to fly by the time they were Ginny's age, but Ginny had not yet been given permission directly.

The day overall was uneventful. There wasn't anything to find when they did their search through Lupin's assigned area. There had only been an old soda can Lupin was afraid might have been a forgotten portkeye, but it was just an old can.

But the day still hadn't been boring. Lupin knew a lot about nonmagical creatures and plants as well as any magical creatures and plants in the woods. He taught her about deer when they spotted one bounding away from them, different varieties of magical fungi, and even a funny little creature that poked it's head up from the small pond called a grindylow.

Because of the uneventful findings, they finished early, and Lupin invited Ginny to come back to the house for the rest of the time for some tea. Ginny very happily accepted. It was only two in the afternoon, so she could still plan on another hour here.

"So what are you planning to do when you grow up?" Lupin asked casually after a sip of tea.

Ginny made a face. "That question gets so boring. Do you know how many people seem to ask me that? I guess I'm just planning to see what I like best when I get to school."

Lupin chuckled. "How about another subject then. How are things at home?"

"That's another boring subject," Ginny said quietly, starring into her tea. "Ron's all I've got left to talk to at home, and even he will be leaving next year."

The cabin was silent for a few minutes as the two took a few more sips of tea. "I've got a better idea of what to talk about," Ginny said, breaking the silence. "How have things been going for you?"

Lupin smiled. "Trust me, if you think your life is boring, you don't want to hear anything about mine."

"You can't say that. There has to be some interesting stories of things you've seen scouting the woods."

"Sadly there isn't as much as you think. What you saw with the unicorn is only the second time I've ever even seen one in the woods. But let me show you this." Lupin stood up and pulled a large old looking book from a shelf. "These are all old reports I've sent to the ministry and copied for myself. It shows all previous things of importance I have changed, fixed, cleaned up, or prevented."

Ginny and Lupin spent the rest of their time together looking at reports. Ginny curiously asked questions about several of them, and Lupin patiently and thoroughly answered all of them.

Before long, Ginny had been helping Lupin for a full week. Even on the most quiet days helping him was very enjoyable. It gave her one on one time with somebody, and she found she really liked talking to him. There was also the fact she was learning a ton.

He taught her about thins from simple charms to a few simple potions. Of course she couldn't use them, but he had still taught her the incantations and how they worked. Ginny also felt sure she would be top of her class in herbology, and care of magical creatures when she had those classes from her experience in the woods.

But on Ginny's seventh day of assisting, something terrible happened that Ginny had always had a slight fear might happen. She and Lupin had just finished for the day. They were both laughing about the event that had just happened where they both thought they saw a hurt white owl, but had only turned out to be a plastic bag caught in a bush. It was the first time Ginny had seen Lupin laugh like that.

As they came closer to the cabin, Ginny was able to make out a figure standing outside the house. Even from a distance she could make out her mother's red hair. Ginny's heart sank and she stopped laughing immediately, and slowed her walk so she was behind Lupin.

"Is that you Molly?" Lupin called. "I didn't expect to see you today. I must say it's a pleasant surprise."

Once they were close enough to have a conversation, Mrs. Weasly glared at Ginny. "I wasn't expecting to come here either, until I found out from Ron where Ginny was. I was getting frantic looking for her."

Lupin frowned and looked at Ginny with stern eyes. Ginny could not look at him no matter how hard she tried, and found herself looking at her feet. "I heard from Ginny that she had your permission to help me out each day."

Ginny felt her cheeks growing warm. She was definitely feeling terrible for lying to Lupin now. Over the last week she had found she liked and respected the man very much. And now she looked like a small disobedient child to him.

"Ginny, I think your mother and I are going to go inside to talk. You should stay out here while we do," he said in a very authorative voice that made Ginny's stomach churn again. He hadn't spoken to her in that voice before. Ginny could only nod as she stared at some dead leaves on the ground. In a few minutes her mother and Lupin were inside the house.

Ginny didn't know how long she sat by herself outside, but to her it felt like hours. Finally they both came out, and Ginny looked up. "Am I allowed to keep coming here?" she asked both of them.

"I've decided you can come back, but before that you're grounded for two weeks," her mother said angrily.

Out of habit tears came to Ginny's eyes, and she gave her mother her best pleading look. She hated to do her fake little girl act in front of Lupin, but she needed to do it now, while he was watching, so he would know himself she was allowed to come back. "Please mom, I'm really really sorry," the tears fell down her face. "Please let me come back tomorrow."

She slowly walked to her mother and hugged her. Slowly Mrs. Weasly patted her shoulder. "Alright, she said in a completely different tone. You can come back as long as it is alright with Remus. In the meantime I have to go back and start dinner. I'll see you home shortly. Please make sure you fly that broom carefully," she added.

Her mother said goodbye to Lupin, and dissaperated. Ginny hurridly wiped her eyes and looked at Lupin. "I can come here again tomorrow, right?" she asked hopefully.

Lupin was still giving her a very stern look, and Ginny had a feeling he wasn't too impressed with what he just saw.

"Please," she tried pleading. She had a bad feeling her pleading act had no effect on Lupin. But she could only try what she knew to try when she was trying to get something she wanted from an adult.

Finally Lupin sighed. "Alright, You can come here again tomorrow. But you are I are going to have a serious discussion before we start."

Ginny smiled in relief at his words. But at the same time felt a slight twinge of anxiety that she was still in trouble with Lupin. He didn't seem like he could forgive and forget as easily as her mother.

"So I'll see you tomorrow same time," Lupin said. "Just come into the house when you get here. I won't be quite ready to go out right away with you."

Ginny nodded, and grabbed her broom to head home. She couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive at the thought of Lupin scolding her about this for most of the morning. But it would be worth it to still be able to get out of the house. The thought of being grounded for an entire two weeks seemed so horrible.


	3. New Consequences

_I wanted to say a quick thanks to favoredson for pointing out my spelling mistake. I'm going to try to remember to fix it in previous chapters, and will make sure to keep it in mind for future chapters. But it brought up a point that any constructive criticism is perfectly welcome! I am far from a good writer, and far from perfect with spelling and grammar. So if you see anything that you want changed/fixed let me know. That does not mean I want any flame, just polite comments with suggestions or pointers. If you absolutely hate this story or my writing for any reason, simply don't read._

_On a related note, if anyone is willing to beta this story, I would very much like one :)_

_ But enough from me, here's chapter 3!_

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><p><strong>Ch 3 New consequences<strong>

That night, Ginny's mom told her dad what Ginny had been doing all week. Luckily Mr. Weasley wasn't the type to get mad, so she didn't have to deal with more scolding. Ron had glared at her through most of dinner. Unlike her, Ron would have at least been grounded for the entire summer if he had done something like this. As it was he was grounded for the rest of the week for trying to lie about where Ginny was. Ginny planned to make it up to him somehow. She would maybe ask Lupin, he usually seemed to have some good ideas and good advice for almost anything.

The next morning felt different, because Ginny was actually able to tell her mother she was leaving. She didn't have to leave the house carefully, and was a little mad at herself for not just asking in the first place. It was clear her mom would have said yes from the beginning.

When she arrived at Lupin's house she was a little startled to not see him waiting for her outside. But then she remembered with a jolt she was supposed to go inside and have a "serious discussion" with him. She hoped this wasn't going to be too uncomfortable.

Slowly she reached up and knocked on the door. She heard Lupin's voice call her inside, so she slowly stepped in. Lupin was sitting at the table writing some official looking documents.

"I'll be able to talk to you in a minute," Lupin said softly, without looking up. "I just need to finish these reports of the last two weeks to send to the ministry. But you can have a seat."

Slowly, Ginny sat on one of the old chairs at the table, and waited for Lupin to finish. When he finally did, he rolled them up and called outside for a small brown barn owl. "You know where to take them," he said to the owl. Then he turned back and sat at the table across from Ginny.

He looked straight into Ginny's eyes, and Ginny found herself yet again having trouble looking back. "You remember the first day you came here, don't you?

Ginny nodded.

"And you also remember the rules I told you about in order for me to allow you to work here?"

Again, Ginny nodded.

"Did you think I wasn't serious about them?" Lupin was speaking calmly and wasn't yelling, but by the tone of his voice he might as well have been. He was making Ginny feel worse than she ever had.

Lupin looked at her expectantly for an answer. She knew she was going to have to say something before he would continue. "Yes, I believed you," she said just above a whisper.

"You know I should have just stuck to my word, and not allow you to help me anymore. But thinking about it last night, I realized that wouldn't really help you learn very much. Your little act with your mother tells me very well you see no discipline at home."

Ginny couldn't argue with that. She felt a bit embarrassed how Lupin had seen through her tears and act yesterday.

"You need to tell me right now if you are truly serious about helping me out each day," Lupin said looking hard into her eyes.

This time Ginny could look back into them. "Yes, I definitely want to help you. I really enjoy helping you," she said in a stronger voice than she had used all day.

"To tell you the truth, I really like having you come and help me out each day. Having company is really nice for me," Lupin said gently. Ginny smiled. "That is another reason I didn't want to ban you from helping me. I also had a feeling you would have snuck over here anyway, which wouldn't have been helpful for me, and would have been dangerous for you. "

Again Ginny couldn't argue. She very well might have just continued coming back here anyway and begging Lupin to help again. He somehow knew her so well, even though he'd only known her a week.

Lupin stood up and walked to his kitchen drawers, where he opened one and pulled out a small cutting board. Then he returned to the table with it and sat. "I really want to be able to be confident that you will be honest, respectful, and obedient when you work with me. The best way I can think to have this happen is for me to give you some of the discipline I feel you have been lacking your entire life, and probably need very much.

In other words, you are going to be punished for any lies, disobedience, sneaking around, and anything else you know you shouldn't do, especially those things that can be harmful to you."

"You're going to punish me?" Ginny gasped. "I'm not a little child, I'm nine years old."

"Believe me, you're not as old or mature as you think," Lupin said. "You have already proved that to me by your actions yesterday."

Ginny could feel herself blushing again. Lupin was very good at making her feel like a four year old. She didn't want to know what Lupin's means of punishment were going to be.

But he was going to tell her anyway. "The two most common means of punishing you I will be likely to use will be time in the corner, or –"

"Time out?" Ginny interrupted. "I'm nine years old! I'm too old to go in a time out." Ginny was feeling more embarrassed than ever.

"Or as I was saying before you interrupted," Lupin picked up the cutting board and tapped it with his wand. It changed slightly so it was longer, more narrow, and had a handle. "You will receive a paddling or spanking."

Now Ginny could see he had transfigured the cutting board to a paddle. There was a paddle back at home, that had never been used on Ginny, but had been used at least once on the rest of her brothers (especially Fred and George).

Ginny jumped up from the table, a strong pain and fear twisting through her stomach. "Lupin, don't spank me, please. I have never been spanked in my life, you can't do that to me."

"I assure you I can and I will. I want to remind you, you're only nine. Now for your week of lying you will get to both spend some time in the corner and the first paddling of your life. Your mother mentioned she uses this form of discipline at home, but you have always been excluded. I think it's time you realize you can get into trouble for you actions."

"Please, don't paddle me. I'll stand in the corner twice as long, or I'll write lines. Please, anything else. I don't want to be spanked." She had heard sounds of her brothers being paddled in the past. It had never sounded like a very easy punishment.

"The acting doesn't work on me either, as you should know. I'm not changing my mind, so come here."

Lupin pushed away from the table slightly, and looked at her. Ginny couldn't make herself move forward. She felt the usual tears falling down her face, and she began to tremble. She didn't know if Lupin would believe her that she wasn't acting this time. Ginny silently shook her head, desperately wishing for some way out of this.

"Ginny, I'm not going to ask you again. If I have to get up and get you, your paddling will be on a bare bottom. Now, come here."

Slowly, and on shaky legs, Ginny took the five steps to Lupin. She felt him grab her wrist and was pulled forward until she fell over his knees. She tried to get back up from the awkward position, but felt Lupin's arm on top of her, holding her down.

He picked up the paddle, and Ginny could sense him raising it in the air. She closed her eyes and clenched her fist. In a split second, a crash of pain exploded into her. She gasped and kicked her feet. It really did hurt, more than she expected.

Again and again the paddle crashed into her, making her bottom sting and burn. Ginny was crying hard now, and pushing against Lupin's arm. She just wanted to get up and make this end, but she was very stuck where she was.

Finally Lupin stopped and set the paddle back on the table. Ginny was trying to catch her breath and just laid there a few minutes until her crying turned to gulps and hic-ups. Then Lupin slowly helped her up. Her bottom was stinging so much. Lupin was pushing and steering her somewhere, and she soon saw where as the emptiest corner of the house came closer and closer. She had forgotten he still planned to make her stand in a time-out.

"No, Lupin, don't make me stand here. I've been punished enough. Even my brothers don't ever have to go in a time-out," she moaned, pushing against his arm, and trying to stay out of the empty blank corner.

"You've probably gotten away with anything you've ever wanted to do, and have always been able to talk your way out of punishment. I have gotten the feeling you really are the spoiled only girl and baby of the family. For your safety while working with me, I want you to think about possible consequences for not listening." He turned her around again and continued pushing her to the corner. "You can spend a half an hour here, and then we can head out to start our work," Lupin said.

But Ginny didn't want to stand in this corner. It just wasn't fair. She fought against him still, even when they had reached the corner, and tried to get back out. She felt two hard swats on her already sore butt. She gasped from the renewed sting and stopped fighting.

"You better stand here until I tell you to come out, or I can give you another dose of the paddle. As it is I have already gone easy on you since you've never been spanked before. Don't test my patience."

That had been going easy? Ginny decided it was best to listen now, and stood still in the corner. She heard Lupin pick up his notebook and write some notes, and tried to imagine what he could have been writing. Like the paddling, standing in the corner was a lot worse than she had thought it would be. Each second dragged, and she felt it to be harder and harder to stand still. It was worse than being in prison, because at least in jail you could pace in your cell while you have nothing to do. In this small little corner, moving wasn't really an option.

Finally Lupin called her out, and Ginny gratefully stepped out and looked around the house. It was nice to see something besides the corner.

"Now I will ask you again, are you still serious about helping me?" Lupin asked gently. "Being punished shouldn't be a problem anymore if you can learn to follow the few rules I have given you."

Ginny still felt like this was asking a lot. She had never needed to follow rules before, but she still wanted to help Lupin out very much. So she made herself look into his eyes and answer again with a confident, "Yes."

"Good, then lets head out to begin our day a little late," Lupin said with a small smile.

Ginny couldn't help but to smile too as she followed him out the door. She had still gotten her way of being able to help, even if it now meant some added consequences.


	4. Coming Anyway

**Ch 4 Coming Anyway**

After her first punishment with Lupin, Ginny had hoped she wouldn't ever be punished again by him. It was a wish she found in years to come would certainly not come true. In fact it only took another week for her to get on Lupin's wrong side again.

It had been a hard day of work. It was Ginny's second time ever to see a unicorn, but this time it was a dead one. As part of Lupin's job they had to burry and hide the body so muggles would never find it. There had also been a huge mess where some wizards had been camping, and left a lot of things like wizard candy, books about creating a muggle camping experience, and even a floating chair. It took them a long time to get everything cleared up.

When they both returned to the house, they were fairly worn out. They both collapsed onto Lupin's small lumpy couch and relaxed a few moments. Ginny thought she would sleep well that night.

"Ginny," Lupin said, getting her attention. Ginny looked at him. "I know you probably aren't going to like this, but tomorrow is a day you are going to need to take off."

Ginny was quiet for a moment, letting this bad news sink in. "But why?" she asked in a half whiny voice.

"I can't tell you that. This is one of those times I need you to just listen to me and respect what I am saying. Can I trust in you to listen to me, and just not come tomorrow?"

Ginny looked away from him, not wanting to answer. She hated the thought of having to spend all day at home again. Ron wasn't even any fun to talk to. Ever since she had gotten him into trouble he had been a little mad at her.

"Ginny, I mean it. I need your word that you will stay away from here tomorrow." Lupin was still looking at her intently.

"Are you going to be here tomorrow still?"

"The answer to that question does not matter, and doesn't make a difference for what I am asking of you."

"But then you are going to be here. Can't I just come and visit with you tomorrow then, even if you can't work for some reason." Ginny looked down at her feet, wishing her pleading would just once have an effect on the man.

"Ginny," Lupin said sharply. Ginny looked up at him. "Please just tell me you won't come here tomorrow."

"But I still want to come to your house. Just for an hour. I just don't want to stay home all day."

"I want an answer now, or I am trying to see if you answer better after an hour in the corner," Lupin warned.

Ginny still didn't answer. She was more stubborn than even she realized sometimes.

"Alright, I want you in the corner," Lupin began.

"Ok ok, you win. I promise I won't come here tomorrow," Ginny mumbled quickly. She did not want to stand in that corner.

"Good," Lupin said. "And now that it took you ten minutes to give me that answer, you can still go stand in that corner for ten minutes," Lupin said pointing to the corner.

"Aww, come on. I answered you, and it didn't take me ten minutes either," Ginny whined. "I don't want to stare at the wall."

"Why do you always have to make things difficult? You can go there and stand for just ten minutes, or I will force you there for an hour. You have three seconds. One," Lupin looked straight at Ginny and put his hand in his robes. "Two," He pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. "Thr-"

Ginny gave a snarl and jumped off the couch to stand in the corner.

"That's what I thought," she heard Lupin mutter from behind her.

When Ginny returned home that day she was not in a good mood. She argued with her mother about every little thing, and spent most of the night moping in her room. She felt so angry at the moment. She did not want to stay home tomorrow. The more she thought and stewed about it, the more she decided she was going to go to the woods for a walk tomorrow anyway.

The next day, Ginny had still not completely decided that she wanted to go to the woods. But it only took her mother telling her to help her with every little chore in the house for Ginny to announce that she still had to go to work. So around ten, Ginny was out of the house, and found herself flying to Lupin's house.

Once she had arrived she suddenly felt she didn't want to be here anymore. Now the memories of her unpleasant paddling were finally coming back to her. She stood for a moment looking around, and was just thinking she might go back home afterall, when Lupin's door banged open. Terrified, Ginny saw a very angry Lupin striding toward her.

"Inside," he told her simply. His quiet voice did not hide his anger.

Nervous, Ginny ran in front of him and entered the house. Lupin came in right behind her and closed the door. "Get in the corner," he said in that same calm deadly voice.

"How long," Ginny whimpered quietly. She didn't dare argue when Lupin was acting like this.

"You can spend the hour in the corner like you should have yesterday," he said shortly.

Without a word of complaint, Ginny turned and walked to the corner. She knew she had screwed up. She had promised Lupin she wouldn't come, yet here she was. It was Lupin's first rule for her to listen to him and be truthful. She had to admit he had the right to be angry.

Ginny could hear Lupin pick something up and set it on the table. She couldn't help herself, even though she knew very well she shouldn't, she turned to see what he was doing. What she saw made her insides feel as though they had turned to ice. Lupin had just set the transfigured paddle on the table.

"No, Lupin please," she cried before she could stop herself. "Please can't you let me go home after my hour is up?"

"If I were you I would turn back around before another second goes by," Lupin growled.

Ginny began to cry silently and faced the empty wall again. It wasn't like this was a complete surprise. Lupin had warned her about this just last week. Now she had to stare at a blank corner for an hour, and anticipate that dreaded paddle as soon as she came out.

Seconds seemed longer than hours. Eventually Ginny had stopped crying and just felt miserable and scared. She shifted her weight, rocked on her toes, listened to Lupin turning pages of a book and tried to imagine what it might have been about, picked her nails, and did anything to try to take her mind off her upcoming paddling.

Finally, when Ginny didn't think she could stand still any longer, Lupin called her out. When she turned she saw him sitting at the table, paddle already in hand. "Come here," he said still in the same hard but calm and quiet voice."

Trembling and starting to cry a little again, Ginny inched toward him. It took a lot of will power for her not to plead or run away. But she really felt she deserved it this time. She wanted the guilty feeling to go away.

Finally, after walking a mile, Ginny was only three feet from Lupin. She stopped there, having trouble making herself move the rest of the way. She knew in just a few moments she was going to be in pain.

Lupin motioned to her with his finger, "Come the rest of the way Ginny," he said softly.

"Please, just don't do it too hard," Ginny whimpered quietly.

Lupin only motioned again, so Ginny took a deep breath and went the rest of the way to him. She was once again pulled over his lap, and once again pinned down by his arm.

Almost at once the stinging fiery pain of the paddle lit into her. She squirmed and grabbed the leg of Lupin's chair. She couldn't believe she had let herself be in this position. It had been entirely preventable. Her tears were now coming hard and fast. Lupin also seemed to be paddling harder and faster.

After about two minutes she had been sure Lupin would have been done long before now. She began to fight hard to get up. She would have also been begging for him to stop, but she was crying too hard to form words. Any attempt to avoid the next crack of the paddle was prevented by Lupin's restraining arm, and the paddle hit right on its mark every swat.

Not able to take any more, Ginny reached back impulsively and tried to shield herself. The only thing that happened was Lupin grabbed her wrists and held them behind her back and out of the way. Then the paddle continued to blister her.

Ginny stopped struggling and went limp. There was nothing she could do. She couldn't move, talk, or protect herself from this pain in any way. All she could do was cry harder and hope beyond hope it would end.

Then suddenly it did. It took Ginny a few minutes to realize he had finished, because her bottom was hurting so much now without being swatted. Still she just stayed over his lap and cried, and he let her stay there. Finally when her sobs had subsided, he helped her up.

"I had to be hard on you today, because this is a serious problem," Lupin said gently. "You broke a promise, a very important promise that I asked you to do to stay safe."

"I'm really s-sorry," Ginny gulped, wiping tears out of her eyes. She meant it too, she had felt bad about breaking his trust like that.

"You're punished and forgiven," Lupin said, holding his arms out. "Just please don't make me have to be that hard on you again."

"I won't, and I'm really sorry," Ginny said, running into his arms and hugging him.

Lupin held her for a few minutes, then pushed her back so he could look into her face. "You know, I still have to send you back home," he said gently. "I told you, you weren't supposed to be here today, and I did mean it."

Ginny nodded. She had a pretty strong feeling she wasn't going to be allowed to stay here.

"I can bring you home with side apparition, if you think that would be easier than sitting on a broom all the way home," he offered.

It was a difficult choice. On one hand she would have to sit on a hard broom all the way home on a terribly sore and throbbing bottom. But on the other side along apparition was unpleasant too. Her father had made her do it with him once, just in case of an emergency, so she'd know what it was like. But in her tired and weak state from crying, struggling, and fighting against Lupin, that didn't seem like a good choice either.

"I'd like the apparition, "she decided. "It's faster."

"Alright, then I'll come back to get you tomorrow, since you won't have your broom," he said.

He led her outside by the hand, and stood just a few steps from the door. "Got a good hold, and are you're ready?" he asked.

Ginny nodded, and took a deep gulp of air so she could hold her breath. Then she was being squeezed from all sides, and just as she thought her head would explode, there was a pop and she was home.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Lupin said. Then with another pop, he was gone. Ginny starred sadly at the empty space, then slowly dragged her feet to go inside. She was going to go upstairs and go to bed. She would probably tell her mother she didn't feel good so she could be left alone. At that moment, she didn't mind the fact that there was nothing to do, and nowhere to be.


	5. Ice Skating

_Thanks a bunch to the people who reviewed! It always helps me to think about this story again and get the next chapter out. I just want to know at least one person is reading it, or I wouldn't bother._

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><p><strong>Ch 5 Ice Skating<strong>

The next morning, Ginny was still a little sore when Lupin came to get her. She really didn't feel like going back with him with side apparition again, but knew she had to get there somehow, and it was way too far to walk. That was why she was relieved to see Lupin had brought two brooms with him.

"I thought you might prefer this way," Lupin said with a smile, handing over her broom.

"You thought right," Ginny said happily.

She grimaced a little at the take-off, because it was slightly painful to sit. But she found if she didn't think about it, the pain wasn't very bad at all.

Lupin was flying right next to her, and occasionally took a glance over at her. They both were flying a little slower than they might have, so the wind in their ears wasn't too loud to have a conversation "So how did you become so good at flying already?" Lupin asked.

"Ahh," Ginny bit her lip. She wanted to tell him, but didn't want to end up in trouble for something that she had done in the past.

"Yes?" Lupin prompted, giving her a slightly stern look.

"Well I have been taking my brothers' brooms for three years to practice," Ginny said as lightly as she could, trying not to sound like she had done anything wrong.

"I'm guessing you weren't allowed to fly when you were only six were you?" he asked, still watching her.

She was feeling very nervous again, and tried not to shift too much on her broom. She finally shook her head. Lupin didn't say anything, but only made a descent for his house that was now straight ahead. Ginny followed him, feeling a little nervous.

Once they were both on the ground, Lupin looked at her. "Can you put both our brooms away, and I'll write down the outside conditions for my report." Lupin handed her his broom, but Ginny hesitated. Lupin noticed this, because be asked, "Is something bothering you?"

Ginny hesitated again before saying what was on her mind. "You're…you're not going to ahhh, punish me again are you?" she asked, unable to look at him.

"Why would I do that? I told you, you were already forgiven for yesterday," Lupin said gently.

"I mean for what I just told you, about teaching myself to fly when I wasn't allowed to," Ginny mumbled.

"Of course not," Lupin said, understanding now in his voice. "That was something you did a long time ago, it wouldn't be fair of me to do something about what you did a long time ago."

Ginny looked up, and could see Lupin meant it. She felt relieved and excited again for the day to begin. "Oh, ok then," she said brightly, and ran to the house to put the brooms away.

When she returned she found Lupin was still writing notes in his little book, so Ginny waited quietly for him to finish. When Lupin finished he put his notebook in his robes pocket, and looked up at her.

"Ready to head out?" he asked calmly.

"Of course," Ginny said, running to be able to walk beside him.

When Ginny had to say goodbye to her brothers at the train station, she had been sure it was going to seem like a long time until the holidays came so she could see them again. But since she met Lupin and had something to do each day, time had been flying. In what only seemed a few days, Ginny found it was already December, and her brothers would be home again by dinner time that night.

Working with Lupin had been going great. Now as they walked through their search Lupin would quiz her on different plants and creatures they happened to see, and Ginny was pleased that she could identify and describe most of the things Lupin asked her to by Thanksgiving.

There was only one problem Ginny had been having. That day Lupin had asked Ginny to not come to help him had been the first of many. About twice a month on random weeks Lupin told her to take the day off. Ginny often complained and protested bitterly, and one time used strong enough language to earn herself fifteen minutes in the corner, but she still knew better than to arrive at his house on those days. That one day she had tried had been enough for her to know not to test Lupin's patience with that issue.

But now Ginny was coming up to having to take a week off work for the holiday break. This hadn't been Lupin's descision, since her mother decided she needed to be home to spend time with her family. Unfortunately Ginny's mom had told Lupin this directly, so Ginny couldn't lie and sneak away from home either.

At the moment Ginny was being forced to help with housework so the house would be ready for family. Ginny grumbled and complained almost the entire day about it. She had to do anything from cleaning up her own bedroom to tidying the bathroom, and dusting every surface in the house. Ginny had tried to tell her mother that they weren't getting any guests, and it was just family returning home. But this comment had been ignored.

While Ginny's brothers were home it wasn't as boring as it otherwise would have been, so Ginny thought she couldn't complain too much. Fred and George were good to laugh at every day, Percy was fun to tease along, and all of them were also able to cheer Ron up again as well. She had to admit it was a rather nice week.

After Christmas came and went, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were all outside playing quidditch. It was the last day all her brothers would be home, and everyone was trying to make the best of it. Tomorrow Ginny would get to go back to work, Percy Fred and George would go back to school, and Ron would go back to being surly and quiet.

"Why don't we go to that large pond in the woods and try ice-skating," Fred suggested after their fifth game. "I'd bet it's pretty frozen and slippery."

"That's a great idea. I was actually thinking the same thing," George agreed.

Ginny wasn't so sure. Lupin had expressly forbid her from ever setting foot on the frozen pond since late November when they had noticed it had frozen. He told her it wasn't safe and he would rather she didn't risk it. "I don't know guys, wouldn't that be dangerous."

"Come on Ginny, since when did Percy rub off on you?" George said in a shocked voice.

"You used to always be the first one to agree to things like this. Besides you would be the last of us to get in trouble anyway. We all need to do something fun before school starts again," Fred said.

Ginny did not agree with Fred that she wouldn't get in trouble. But before she could say anything, George spoke again.

"Whether you're coming or not, the rest of us are going to have some fun." Fred and George took off towards the forest, with Ron trailing behind them.

"Ok, I'm coming," Ginny called, and she hurried after them. The chances of Lupin being around that area didn't seem too likely, and George was right, they had to do something fun before school started again.

Once they were all at the pond the four of them stepped onto it one by one. Each would take a running start and slide from one end of the pond to the other. It really was a lot of fun.

"Hey guys, try this," Ron called out. He was running and diving on his stomach to glide across head first.

Laughing and cheering the rest of them quickly tried it too. Everything was going great until a sudden large crack appeared under George on the fourth time he slid across on his belly. Everyone stopped moving at once.

"It's alright everyone, we all just need to get off smoothly and softly," Fred said loudly to the rest of them.

He and Ron were nearest to the edge and were able to step gently to the snow. But George and Ginny were still very much stuck in the middle and the crack was expanding from their weight.

"Fred!" Ginny cried out. "Can't you do something?"

"Just stay calm," George said from right next to her.

Next thing Ginny knew her and George were both flying through the air and landed next to Fred and Ron. "Well how did that happen," George asked.

"That was awesome George. You have to show me how you did that!" Fred said excitedly, running to his twin for a high five.

"But I didn't do that," George said ignoring Fred's raised hand.

Ginny had a very bad feeling she knew who did that, but before she could voice her guess an angry calm voice said behind them, "I got you off the ice. I thought you two were going to fall in and freeze."

Ginny's brothers spun around to see the source of the voice, but Ginny stayed facing the way she was, not wanting to look at Lupin. She wondered how she could have been so stupid to go along with this. She was going to be in huge trouble now.

"Who are you?" George asked.

"I'm Remus Lupin, and I live in this area. I happened to hear you guys playing a few seconds ago," Lupin informed them.

"Oh, you're who my sister works for," Ron said, recognizing the name.

Lupin must have nodded, because Ginny didn't hear him respond.

"Thanks a lot though for helping us," Fred said.

"Yeah, we owe you one," George interjected.

"Anytime," Lupin said, still in the cold quite voice that made Ginny shiver. "But I'm guessing you all should be heading home, and I need to be off. Ginny can you please look at me," it wasn't a request, but a command.

Ginny jumped at the increase in volume and reluctantly turned around and looked into Lupin's stern face. It very plainly told her just how much trouble she was in, and how upset Lupin was with her. She was only able to look at him for a few seconds before looking at his feet instead.

"I will be seeing you tomorrow, correct," he asked her.

"Yes," Ginny said softly, knowing full well the full meaning of that question.

"Good, so I will be seeing you soon. Have a good day everyone, and have a safe journey back to school."

"Thanks," the twins chorused.

Then Lupin was walking away. Without another word all four of them grabbed their brooms and headed for home. It had been a miserable end to the holidays. All three of her brothers gave her sympathetic and apologetic looks on the way home. Ginny didn't make any acknowledgement of her brothers' attempts to comfort her. They didn't know just what Lupin would do, they were probably only assuming he was going to yell at her.

Later that night, Ginny was able to forget about the pond incident and enjoy a family supper. Fred and George just had a way of making a person feel better, except maybe Percy. Ginny was going to miss them quite a lot.

The next morning Ginny went with her mother to King's Cross to see her brothers back to school. It was a sad good bye, but they would be back eventually. By the time Ginny, Ron, and her mom were on their way home, she was feeling very nervous and a little sick. She knew she should go see Lupin today and get it over with, but she really didn't want to.

They made it home by 9:45, giving Ginny just enough time to get there on time. She grabbed her broom and jumped on, starting off to Lupin's. But as she got closer she couldn't make herself go there. She just didn't want to face him yet.

Instead Ginny began circling in a tight curve and took a ride around the area away from Lupin's little cabin. She wasn't going to work today, and she'd just go home in an hour and tell her mom work finished early today. She wasn't sure if she would ever work with Lupin again, and that thought did nothing to make her feel any better.

When Ginny got home again she felt terrible. Lupin was probably furious with her for skipping out on him. She was digging her hole deeper and deeper. But she only sat around the house the rest of the day. Thankfully her mother left her alone, and just assumed Ginny was depressed since her brothers had left again.

The next morning Ginny woke up very early. She hadn't gotten very much sleep, and didn't feel any better than she had yesterday. If anything, she felt worse. "I can't take this anymore," Ginny said to herself. She jumped out of bed and dressed quickly.

She ran downstairs and scribbled a quick note to her mom, letting her know she had gone to work early. It was only six in the morning when Ginny jumped on her broom and flew towards Lupin's house. She knew this wasn't going to be fun, but she needed to get rid of this guilty feeling.

Ginny landed gently next to Lupin's house and slowly walked to the door. She had a very bad squirmy feeling about what was about to happen. Trying to ignore this feeling, Ginny reached out with a trembling hand and knocked.


	6. Facing Your Problems

_****Thanks a lot for the reviews and critique! I realized the comment that there is no Thanksgiving in New Britain is probably right, so thanks a lot for pointing that out! That's the kind of dumb mistake I'm apt to make as this goes on. _

_But here is my next chapter. Not sure how well it came out, but here it is anyway! :)_

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><p><strong>Ch 7 Facing your Problems<strong>

She heard footsteps and the door opened. Lupin stood in front of her looking tired and surprised. "Ginny, this is early," he said.

Ginny ran forward and hugged him. "I'm sorry for everything," she said, trying not to cry.

Lupin hugged her back. "I was beginning to think I was going to have to get you after you didn't show up yesterday. I'm glad you came on your own."

These words actually made Ginny feel better. It surprised her to know the knowledge that she would not have escaped punishment by not showing up made her feel happier instead of more worried. It made her feel like Lupin really cared for her.

Together her and Lupin headed over to the couch and sat. "Let's talk," Lupin said gently. Once they were both sitting Lupin looked at her long and hard. "So you remembered very well I told you never to go on that ice when you were playing on it didn't you?" Lupin's voice was very quickly becoming angry and quiet.

"Yes," Ginny half whined. "But I only went because my brothers pressured me into it," she said, hoping this could help lessen her sentence.

"That's not a very good excuse. You still knew better, and you could have not listened to them. It doesn't make me feel any better to think you would do anything just because other people are doing it or someone else told you it is ok even when you know you shouldn't. I'm going to tell you right now, that is something I hope to never hear you do in school."

Lupin gave her a hard look, and Ginny nodded to tell him she understood the warning. "Then you also lied to me," Lupin continued.

"Wait, no I didn't," Ginny protested.

"Well that's news to me," Lupin said quietly. "I could have sworn that was you two days ago telling me you were coming here yesterday. Are you telling me that was a clone?"

"No, that was me," Ginny mumbled, her heart sinking.

"So now I'm left deciding what I'm going to do about this," Lupin began, finally looking away from Ginny. Ginny stiffened and held her breath, hoping this wasn't going to be too bad. "You've helped me out a little coming so early, we can get you punishment over with in just one day."

Ginny shivered. This already wasn't sounding good. She glanced around the small house and had to hold back a gasp when she saw the already transfigured paddle on the table. She looked away again and listened to Lupin.

"You can have both your paddlings today, one right now, and a second after work. There will also be a total of an hour in the corner, the first half hour after your first spanking, and the second before your next one. That will be two punishments for two broken rules," Lupin finished.

"You're going to spank me right now?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yes," Lupin said firmly, and grabbed her wrist pulling her with him to the table. "So lets get started."

Lupin sat down and dragged Ginny over his knees. Ginny tried to keep a steady breathing rhythm and pretend she was someplace else. Neither tactic was working very well.

In the mean time she could tell Lupin was pulling his wand out. She heard him mutter something, and in an instant she felt her pants and underwear slip down to her ankles.

Immediately she fought to get up, but his strong arm held her still. "No Lupin, please." She tried to reach for her pants to pull them back up, but he grabbed her wrists and held them to her back.

"For disobeying something I told you not to do, I think you need your first bare bottom spanking," Lupin announced. "You put yourself knowingly at risk. You really could have gotten hurt if you weren't lucky enough for me to be around that area. I want to know you won't be putting yourself into danger."

Ginny expected him to pick up the paddle, but instead it was his hand that swatted her first. She struggled and kicked, surprised at how much just his hand could hurt. It didn't burn as much as the paddle, but it stung more.

After about a dozen with his hand, Lupin picked up the paddle. Ginny closed her eyes, preparing for the first impact. When it came she jumped and began crying. Without the protection of her clothes it certainly did hurt quite a lot more.

After only three whacks, Ginny was crying hard. She fought and bucked, even though she knew she couldn't get up. It somehow felt better to be able to kick from the pain. She dug her finger nails inter her own hands where Lupin held them still.

Lupin paddled her a dozen time before he released her hands and let her cry over his lap. He gave her a few minutes to calm down before rearranging her clothes with his wand, and pulling her into the corner. "Half an hour," he reminded her.

Ginny knew better than to attempt to get out of the corner. So she stood and worked to stop crying and slow her breathing down for her time facing the blank walls. Finally Lupin called her out, and invited her to come sit on the couch with him. Ginny approached and sat slowly. It was pretty uncomfortable, but the couch was just soft enough that she could deal with it.

"Lupin handed her a cup of tea. "Have you had any breakfast yet," he asked gently.

"No," Ginny said softly, taking a sip of tea.

"I don't have much, but I can make us some eggs and toast," Lupin said getting up.

"That would be fine," Ginny said. Now that half her punishment was over, she was feeling a bit hungrier.

It was still early, so there was plenty of time to slowly eat. It was a quiet meal with Ginny caught up in her thoughts about what would happen that afternoon. After they both finished, they headed out to start the day. Ginny was fairly sore and was dreading the end of the day, but she was able to push it out of her mind.

There was a new growth of some baby charnal bushes growing over a large area of the forest that Lupin hadn't recognized until now. He explained how Charnal bushes looked a lot like blackberry bushes that unicorns loved to eat. But these plants were toxic to them.

So most of the time in the woods was spent pulling up every one of the plants they could find. It was a lot easier to do when the plants were still babies.

When the end of the day came, and Ginny and Lupin were heading back to the cabin, Ginny couldn't help but feel that old familiar sense of dread. She still just wanted to get this over with. She was looking forward to tonight when she could go home knowing she was forgiven and things could return to normal again.

Once they were at the door, Lupin opened it and said, "straight to the corner."

Ginny sighed quietly and went to the usual boring corner. She really was beginning to hate this particular part of Lupin's small house very much. She never wanted to look at it again after this.

When the half hour was up, she was called out. Lupin was in his usual chair, and the paddle was still on the table from when he used it last. "Alright, just come here and get it over with, and this whole thing can be done with," Lupin said in a surprisingly soft voice. He motioned for her to go to him.

Ginny took another deep breath and forced herself to walk very quickly to him. She really did just want it all over with. As soon as she was within his reach she closed her eyes, planning to not reopen them until both feet were back on the ground.

She felt him pull her over him, and reached blindly for the legs of the chair. Once she found them she grabbed tight and held on, as if she was going to fall.

"This is for lying and trying to run away from what you knew was coming. Just remember you wouldn't have had this part of your punishment if you had just come yesterday. Trying to avoid your problems won't ever get you anywhere," Lupin told her.

She heard him pick up the paddle, and felt a sense of relief that he was going to leave her clothes alone. She held her breath and waited for it to begin.

The first crash of the paddle nearly made her eyes fly open. She was still sore from this morning. This was going to be harder to take than she had thought. The paddle lit into her and rekindled the fire again and again.

After a solid dozen again, Lupin stopped and set the paddle back on the table. Ginny wasn't crying as hard as last time, and was able to calm herself a little faster than she had this morning. She felt Lupin lift her into standing position, and she finally allowed herself to open her eyes.

"There, I think we can both be glad this is over with," Lupin said softly.

"You can't be as glad as I am," Ginny mumbled. "That really hurt."

"I'm sure it did," Lupin said lightly. "But you know what," he said standing up and changing the paddle back to a cutting board. "Now you can tell your brother you were punished for something he wasn't. Maybe that will even some things up from times he's been in trouble for something you did too, and only he got punished for it. I'm sure that must have happened at least once in your life."

"Yeah, it has," Ginny said quietly. "In fact, the last time was just this summer, after I got him in trouble with mom for covering for me when I was coming here my first week. I never did make it up to him."

"I'd say maybe you can now."


	7. Listening

_Hey guys, I finally got myself to sit down and write out another chapter. I know it's been forever since my last update, and I feel horrible about it. All I can say is thanks so much for the encouraging reviews!_

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><p><strong>Ch 7 Listening <strong>

Ginny had never really thought of working with Lupin as all that dangerous. Sure in a great while there might be one relatively dangerous thing, like the ashwinder eggs they had found one day. But Lupin had known to freeze the eggs to prevent a forest fire or either of them from being burned. She felt there wouldn't be any dangers that could effect her as long as she was with Lupin. However she did discover in just a few months how important it was to listen to anything he told her to do without question. It wasn't always enough to just be near him.

The first encounter she had with something frightening was on a unseasonably warm day in mid April. Lupin and Ginny were scouting along their usual path, having a discussion about quidditch.

"Ive always wanted to try quidditch," Ginny was saying. "My brother Charlie was a great quidditch player. He used to tell me about some of his most spectacular catches when we'd go for walks together."

"So your brother was a seeker?"

Ginny nodded.

"Did you know where the idea of the golden snitch came from?" Lupin asked her.

"No, I just thought wizards one day came up with the idea and created a snitch."

"Actually there is a very rare bird called a snidget. Wizards hunted these birds, as they were small, golden, and very fast. They were the very first snitchs, and seeker played to catch these birds. Eventually they became too endangered for this use, and the golden snitch was made to replace them."

"That's pretty interesting," Ginny said thoughtfully. "Where do you learn all these neat magical creature facts anyway?"

"Well, for starters," Lupin paused. "I payed attention in school," he finished slowly. He was acting a little strange. "Ginny would you please head back to the house? There is something I think I need to take care of."

Ginny was confused. Lupin had never asked her to do anything like this before. "But why?"

"Please don't ask questions, just go," he said, rather stiffly.

"But I can still help," Ginny argued.

A sudden noise caught her attention, and she turned. Ginny found herself facing her worst fear. It was like one of her nightmares from when she was little. Because here, pacing in front of her was a sphinx.

Ginny had been terrified at the thought of a sphinx ever since Charlie had shown her the pictures of them in his defense against the dark arts text book. She had nightmares for weeks after learning about them, and they had been a great fear of hers for some time.

Fear seemed to paralyze Ginny now. The more scared Ginny felt, the more excited the sphinx seemed to become. She sat back, a large smirk on her face, and looked ready to pounce.

Ginny let out a whimper, and at the same time Lupin stepped protectively out in front of her. The sphinx changed into a strange silver orb almost instantly. That seemed strange, she had never heard of a sphinx being able to do that. "Rediculus!" Lupin shouted, and at once the orb was gone.

Everything was very silent for a while, and Ginny worked to catch her breath. She had worked out that wasn't a sphinx. Now that she thought about it, this was not a place a sphinx would ever be. "What was that," she said quietly.

"That," Lupin said, "was a boggart. They are shapeshifters, and change into whatever a person fears most." He turned to look at her, his expression stern. "They are not generally very dangerous, but they do feed off fear. If you don't know how to handle them they can harm you. If you had just walked away to the house instead of arguing, it probably wouldn't have even wanted to attack. I really didn't want you to have to see your worst fear, it's something I would have rather you learned how to handle when you're a little older, or at least in school."

Ginny looked away.

"I just want you to remember in the future when I tell you to do something out here, it is for a reason. You need to have an instant reaction to my words, no matter what it is I tell you. I'm going to warn you now, I will not just let it go if something like this happens again."

"I'm sorry," Ginny said quietly.

"Are you ok?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, it was just really scary," she said as her heart rate slowed and she caught her breath. Her voice sounded far away, even to her.

"We'll a break so you can catch your breath. But I think it will help you more to move on quickly and get your mind off of it."

Then the ordeal was forgotten and the two got back to their day.

Unfortunately it was only two weeks later that something similar happened again. It was a rainy day, and the first day of May. Lupin and Ginny were both quiet, and trying to get the day finished quickly because of the rain. They were nearly finished and on their way back when Lupin noticed a strange growth on one of the trees. "I'm going to have to remove that," he muttered, pulling out his wand.

Ginny noticed where he was looking and saw a strange purple lump on the trunk. Interested she began to approach it for a better look.

"Don't get near that thing," Lupin said, at the same time trying to remember the spell to get rid of it. "This was a very rare thing to find in the forest."

Ginny was still walking forward. "I won't touch it," she said. "I just want to see what this looks like, it's weir-"

Before she could finish her sentence she felt her feet lift from the ground, and land behind Lupin. He had his wand pointed at her, and immediately understood he had levatated her, just like he had at the pond.

Lupin seemed to remember what he was concentrating on, and said a lot of spells Ginny couldn't understand. Then finally a reducto curse and the growth exploded and was gone. Lupin then turned to face Ginny.

"That was a chispurfle nest, which are a type of deadly parasite. They can be airborn, and you stepping within five feet of it could have had you infected and spending months in Saint Mangos. It's a good thing I moved you away from there when I did."

"Oh," was all Ginny could say. She felt a bit stupid now.

Lupin began walking quickly to the house again, and Ginny trotted to keep up. Once they were both inside, Lupin dried both of them off, then pointed to the empty corner. "Twenty minutes," he said sternly.

Ginny was startled out of a daydream she'd been having and looked quickly into Lupin's face. "But why?"

"I told you two weeks ago, after the boggart incident, that you needed to listen to what I tell you better. Now today, I told you to stay away from that nest, and you ignored me. It's things like that that will get you hurt someday. I want you in that corner, and think about listening to me right away in the future."

"Really? Right now?" she complained.

"Yes, I told you last time I wasn't going to let you off the hook if this happened again." Miserably, Ginny turned and began to walk slowly to the corner. "Oh, and Ginny." She turned. "If this happens again, you can expect more than just the corner."

Understanding exactly what he meant, Ginny continued to her version of imprisonment. Time in this stupid corner always felt like it was ten times longer than it was.

May rolled into June, and June turned to July. Ginny's brothers were back home, and because of this she was working half the hours she used to with Lupin. But it was still enjoyable, and Ginny was enjoying a summer with her brothers again.

It was a particularly hot day in July, and Ginny and Lupin had just begun their scouting. Ginny noticed a faint shimmer of silver in the distance. "Can that possibly be," she muttered. She had been dying to see a unicorn again.

Lupin and Ginny both very quickly hurried over to the shimmer. There, laying in the leaves was a unicorn. Only it didn't look very good, just like the first one Ginny had ever seen. Quickly she began to hurry over to it to see how badly it was hurt.

"Ginny, hold on a second," Lupin called.

But Ginny wasn't listening. Thoughts of seeing a unicorn were flowing through her mind. As she ran closer, the creature turned it's head to look at her, and Ginny gasped, noticing it had two horns.

"Protego!"

A strong shield charm came up between her and the creature. Even in its sick or injured state he had almost managed to bite her with very sharp teeth.

"Stupify," Lupin said calmly, pointing to the animal. It immideiatly fell unconscious.

Lupin looked at her. "I'm going to be gone for two minutes to turn this into the ministry. I want you to sit under that tree and wait for me," he was using that same stern calm voice that made Ginny shiver.

Slowly Ginny sat where Lupin showed her to, and watched Lupin dissaperate with the fake unicorn. He hadn't been lying when he said he would only be a few minutes, because he was back very quickly. With a very stern expression he strode over to Ginny, grabbed her wrist, and began to pull her along with him.

Ginny resisted only a little, and made some squeaks of protest. But Lupin ignored her. Abruptly he found a large rock, sat on it, and in seconds Ginny was pulled over his knees.

"Oh no," she moaned. "Lupin please, not here. Let me up," she whined. She pushed against him to get up, but as always she was very stuck. A quick sharp slap made her jump and got her attention very fast.

"This is the third strike, Ginny," Lupin scolded. "That was a bicorn you were just hurrying up to. They are even rarer than a unicorn, so I'm surprised we saw it at all. But they eat human flesh. I did warn you this would happen if you ignored something I told you to do again."

There were more stinging smacks raining down, and Ginny began to kick, and her eyes started to tear. "But do we have to do this right here?" Ginny cried.

"Yes," Lupin said simply, not breaking his rhythm. "I am going to attempt right here and now to get you to start reacting to when I tell you something. You should be grateful this isn't the paddle, which I promise you will come out if there is a next time."

By now Ginny was crying hard. Lupin's hand was coming down very fast and hard. The first swats weren't all that bad, but the pain had a way of slowly building until it was unbearable.

The spanking just seemed to go on and on. Ginny fought against Lupin's restraining arm, and tried to squirm away, hoping Lupin's hard hand might miss its target. But it always hit dead on everytime. Finally Ginny became too tired to struggle anymore, and fell limp.

Lupin continued spanking for about another thirty seconds after this, then let Ginny cry over his lap. When she was ready, Ginny pushed herself up, and wiped her eyes.

"Please start listening right away when I tell you something. There is going to be a time where I'm not going to be fast enough to protect you from something out here," Lupin said gently. It was quite a change from the icy voice he had just been using before.

Ginny nodded. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Lupin held out his arms, and Ginny nearly jumped into them, desperate to truly feel forgiven for her absentmindedness.

"I don't want to have to punish you like this, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because you were working with me," Lupin murmured over her shoulder.

"I know," she said softly, still holding onto him. "I really am sorry for not paying enough attention." She could understand why Lupin was so worried and upset for three close calls so close to each other.

"I understand," Lupin said, finally pulling away from the hug to look into her face. He gave her a sympathetic smile. "You're still learning."

Ginny was able to return the smile.

From that moment on, Ginny promised herself she was going to make it an absolute habit to do whatever Lupin told her to, no matter how strange a command was. She did not want to see the paddle come out for something as little as this. Truly she did not want to see the paddle again ever.

But then, she thought as she continued with Lupin through their usual path, it hardly seemed possible Ginny would be able to stay out of trouble for the rest of her life.


	8. The Broken Clock

_Here's the next chapter, only a little more than a week after the last one : )  
>It's pretty good timing for me, since I've been pretty bad about updating on a timely fashion. <em>

_Anyway, I'm hoping I'm now on going to be better about adding new chapters __regularly_

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><p><strong>Ch 8 The Broken Clock<strong>

Despite the knowledge that when September came she would be the last of her siblings left in the house, Ginny was in a very good mood. She didn't even know why. But lately she had been having a ton of energy, which was why after one particularly slow day in the woods, Ginny really wanted to do something crazy. Obviously the best way to do this was to talk to the twins.

"I'm bored," Ginny announced straight away after being invited to their bedroom. "Have any ideas of something interesting we can do inside?" Inside fun was the best plan for the moment, since a summer thunderstorm had just rolled over them.

"Something interesting could be possible," said George smoothly.

"Come and look what we have managed to make," Fred said, a glint in his eye.

Ginny looked closer and saw a very strange looking object that almost resembled a wireless. "What is it?"

George stepped over and pushed one of the buttons. The thing crowed like a rooster, and sounded so realistic that you might think one was trapped inside the little device. "We stole it from dad's muggle collection."

"We've been playing with it and found you can record sounds," Fred said.

"So we used a bit of tinkering with are marvelous magical skills until our recording of the roster outside sounded completely real," said George.

"You used magic outside of school?" Ginny asked. "I thought you weren't allowed to."

"We know how to get around it," Fred grinned. "You just have to use a very small amount, you know something little like altering this device. Then because we are in a wizarding family, and mum is always using magic for cleaning and stuff, the ministry doesn't notice."

"I didn't know that." Ginny was going to have to remember that when she had a wand.

"Anyway, we've been trying to make sure this thing is safe, and the muggle parts haven't been destroyed by our tampering," George said. "It might not be reliable, but if you want to try it out now-"

"And if you have a prank idea-" Fred added.

"We can try it out," George finished.

Ginny thought she might have an idea. "You know that small space to get behind the bookshelf that only I can fit in anymore?" She didn't want to wait for the twins to test it for safety. She wanted to do something right away.

"Yeah, the one mom said you're not allowed in anymore because you almost broke our clock?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, well what if I took that thing with me in there, and played it as I crawled around. Then we could trick someone into thinking there is a chicken stuck in the house. It would test out just how real this thing sounds." She looked at the twins.

"Yes, I think that would be a good test run," George said. "I think we'll try it on Ron. We need to get him out of his room."

And so the plan was decided. Ginny squeezed herself behind the large bookshelf and held onto the little device. The twins had shown her how to work it, and even different buttons to press to get a variation of sounds. Then the twins ran to Ron's room to tell him there was a chicken stuck in the house, and their mother wanted him to help them get it out.

"How on earth did a stupid chicken get in here anyway," Ginny heard Ron grumbling as three sets of footsteps came thundering down the stairs.

"I don't know, do I look like a chicken expert?" came Fred's voice.

This was Ginny's cue. She pressed the biggest button on top to start with.

"Aw, darn, it's coming from behind the bookshelf," Ron said. "I don't think any of us can get back there." In a ridiculous voice, Ron starting calling, "Here chicken, come out of there," he clucked and tapped on one of the shelves.

Ginny had to fight hard to keep from laughing, and she was sure the twins were doing the same. She randomly pressed a few more buttons. The plan was to spend about five minutes confusing Ron and anyone else who happened to hear the chicken noises, before Ginny would crawl out. Only one thing got in the way of this plan. When Ginny pressed one of the smaller buttons the little device began to smoke.

"Fred, George, I think something is wrong," Ginny anxiously called out, abandoning the plan.

"Just get out of there," she heard them say quickly together.

Ginny made a mad dash to squeeze back through the little space while Ron said, "Wait, Ginny's in there?"

She made it just in time. Right about as she was pulling her foot out, the hissing and smoking object made a tremendous explosion. Ginny felt a red hot pain on her foot where it got her a little, and she ran to her brothers to duck.

The blast knocked every book off the shelves, knocked the family clock over so it broke into pieces, and flew through the window causing glass to shatter everywhere. A small purple fire was burning where the explsion happened.

"Fred and George! What did you do this time!" Came their mother's scream. They heard her running toward the office.

"Mom, you need to get our magical fire kit," Fred said nervously.

All four of them stood shaking and white faced. "What exactly did you guys do?" asked Ron quietly.

Ginny sat and took her shoe and sock off. Her foot was burning and itching horribly where the blast had got her. Nobody had time to answer as Mrs. Weasly came into the room.

"Oh my goodness! How in the world could you create a fire like this!" she screamed. Quickly she poured a generous amount of the fire mixture until the flame was gone.

"Look at our antique clock, and our wall," she yelled. "And Ginny, you've been burned." Mrs. Weasly ran over to her. "I'll grab my first aid kit in a minute," she said in a rushed voice. She summoned some ice and a bucket with water. "For now, keep your foot in this," she said gently putting the ice into the water.

"As for you three," she snarled. "I want you all in your rooms. You are in so much trouble, you won't see the outside of your bedrooms until school," she snapped.

"But mom, I didn't have anything-" Ron started to argue.

"Upstairs now!" she yelled.

All three of them hurried to their bedrooms. Ginny heard Ron's door slam, and felt very uneasy. "Mom, a lot of this was my fault too, and none of this is Ron's fault," she tried to say.

"This is not all your fault," Mrs. Weasly said gently. "We just need to get this burn better before it gets worse. Somehow your brothers created a magical fire, so this isn't going to heal easily unless I get something on it right away. I need my tiny potions kit," she murmered.

"Mom you're not listening," Ginny said. She was feeling very guilty now, and very bad for poor Ron.

"Hush now, I need to think so I can make the correct ointment," Mrs. Weasly said.

Ten minutes later Ginny's burn had been healed by her mom, and Mrs. Weasly had stomped upstairs to reprimand Fred, George, and Ron. Ginny felt sick, but nothing she had tried to see had seemed to get through to her mother. She wasn't sure how she would ever make this up to Ron.

Not wanting to listen to her brothers' punishment, Ginny slipped into the laundry room. Hot wet tears fell down her face. She hoped they could fix the clock, she had always liked that particular airlum. It was very unique. She also hoped Ron would forgive her, and she would at least be able to tell her dad and get him out of grounding.

Later that night Ginny had been able to talk to her father, and Ron was freed from his two weeks of being grounded. But unfortunately the worst of the punishment had already been done. Furthermore the clock had been damaged, and would cost money to repair the damage that type of magical explosion had caused. Money they didn't really have.

Ginny spent most of the night sulking in her bedroom. That was where the twins found her after dinner.

"Hey, we don't blame you for this," Fred said quietly. "It was mostly our idea."

"No, it was mine," Ginny said.

"Yeah but we were going to do something like that soon anyway," said George.

"But what about Ron," Ginny moaned. "He probably hates me."

The twins exchanged looks. "He isn't happy," Fred said reluctantly.

"He's probably still pretty sore right now too, judging from how my backside feels," George said.

"I'm really sorry," Ginny said.

"Don't worry about it. Not like we haven't been in this situation before. Just Ron doesn't get in trouble often, so he's not very used to this. We will have to make it up to him," George said sadly.

"But we better go. We don't want mum to catch us in here talking to you," Fred said. Then both twins left, leaving Ginny feeling even worse than she had before.


	9. Guilt

_Just two days later!_

_Hopefully, I actually am going to start being better about updating._

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><p><strong>Guilt<strong>

The next morning Ginny still felt terrible, but she still headed for Lupin's like any other day. She would try to talk to Ron later that night. She tried to forget about her guilt and bad day when she met up with Lupin, but her face must have still looked miserable.

"Is everything ok," he said as soon as he saw her. "You look upset."

"I'm fine," Ginny lied. "Just some family problems.

"Anything you want to talk about?' Lupin asked gently.

Ginny shook her head. "I'll be alright," she tried to smile. "Lets just head off to start our day."

Lupin seemed skeptical still, but he dropped the issue. "Alright, lets go."

When Ginny returned home a few hours later, she went into Ron's room to try to talk to him. As soon as he saw it was her entering, he turned away.

"Ron, I'm really sorry you got dragged into this," Ginny said in a soft voice. "I didn't know that would happen."

"Yeah well, that doesn't really help much," Ron snapped.

"I was able to get you freed from your grounding," Ginny said. "I also did try to tell mom I had a huge part in this too."

"It's still not the same. Mum came up here with the paddle until I couldn't sit down, and I didn't even do anything. Then you had a huge part in this and got off completely free, just like you always do. It's just unfair."

I know Ron, but I really am sorry." Ginny still had felt too embarrassed to tell Ron how she had been punished for the pond incident and nobody else had, she knew it had to make up for something. She just couldn't make herself tell Ron that.

"Sorry really doesn't help," he said in a bitter voice. "Just get out and leave me alone."

"Ron," Ginny tried again.

"Get out!" Ron snapped.

With tears swimming in her eyes, Ginny made a dash for her own bedroom.

"Ginny, there really is something wrong still. I can tell. Why don't you come inside this time and tell me about it. Talking might at least help a little," Lupin said the next morning.

Ginny still felt apprehensive about this idea. She was pretty sure she knew what Lupin's fix to this problem would be, and she wasn't quite sure she was ok with it. But on the other hand she knew it was the right thing to do, and probably the only good way to really try to make it up to Ron. She wanted to be on good terms again with her brother before he left for school. "Ok," she finally agreed.

Once they were both sitting on the couch, Lupin asked her again. "So what is this about," he prompted.

Ginny hesitated, and took a deep breath. She had to just get this over with. Then with her hands clenched into fists, Ginny went through the entire story, doing her best not to leave anything out or stop. It was like leeching out a poison, once she had admitted to everything she did feel better.

"So all your brothers were punished except you, even though it was a lot of your idea," Lupin repeated. "I think I might know the answer, but how exactly were your brothers all punished?"

Ginny took another deep breath and closed her eyes. "They were all paddled," she mumbled. It felt like she had just said her own penalty sentence. It was almost like asking for a spanking from this man.

"That is what I thought. I think I do know the best way to set the score straight, and I think you do too," Lupin said quietly. He stood up and walked to his kitchen drawers. Ginny watched with wide eyes as Lupin pulled out the hated cutting board. She hoped beyond hope it wasn't going to be transfigured into the even more hated paddle in a few moments

"I do know what you're suggesting, but I don't know if I want that to happen," Ginny said, her voice trembled along with her body. She couldn't look at him anymore, but only stared at her knees.

Lupin sat on the kitchen chair close by, still holding the cutting board. Ginny could feel him looking at her for a few moments. She wanted this conversation to end, and was now regretting talking about it. "I don't think I'm going to give you the choice," she heard Lupin's authoritive voice cut through the silence.

A pang of sudden fear shot through her body, and was only made worse when she looked up and saw the cutting board was already the paddle. "No, please, I don't want this. I know you think it will make things even, but I'm not ready to be paddled," she wiped the tears away that were threatening to fall.

"I know you don't want to be paddled. It wouldn't be a punishment if it was something you wanted," Lupin said firmly. "But it will help to make you even, which it will also help get rid of the guilt you're feeling. You destroyed your family clock, got your brother into trouble, and the thing that makes me most angry is you put yourself into danger with an object your brothers told you might not be safe. And it did explode and burn you. I can tell you I'm not very happy to hear about this little event. Come here please so we can take care of it."

Ginny whimpered. That last sentence was one she always dreaded hearing, especially when Lupin was holding the paddle. But she knew it had gotten to the point where no matter what she did she wasn't going to be able to avoid this. Slowly and shakily she stood up and shuffled her feet toward him. Every step brought an increase in her sense of dread. It took a lot of will power to walk close enough to be within Lupin's reach.

Without another word he pulled her over and pinned her down. He started right away, and swung the paddle high for each swat. Ginny was struggling and crying softly after the second hit. Lupin wasn't holding back much this time.

After the first half dozen, Ginny was crying and pushing against Lupin's restraining arm. After a dozen she was kicking her feet furiously and trying unsuccessfully to distract herself from the swinging paddle. After twenty Ginny was bawling and begging incoherently for him to stop. Lupin finally set the paddle back on the table after two dozen. It had been a pretty hard punishment for her, so he gave her a long time to cry herself out over his lap.

When she was ready to stand, he helped her up and hugged her. "You no longer have to feel guilty," he said softly. "You have been punished now, and forgiven. And I'm sure you know better than to try anything like this in the future."

"I promise I won't. I don't want to have to go through that again," Ginny murmured. But Lupin was right, Ginny no longer felt guilty. The bad feeling she had about being treated so differently than her brothers by her mom was now gone. She felt equal to the rest of her siblings now. She couldn't believe she was thinking it, but she felt maybe Lupin had been right that she had needed a paddling, as much as she hated it.

As soon as Ginny got home later that day, she ran straight up to Ron's room to try again. "Ron, I want to talk to you," she said softly.

Ron ignored her.

"I think you should know we are equal now. I was…" she hesitated, hating to even say the evil word, "I was paddled today," she said. She was still quite sore too.

Ron actually looked at her, too surprised by this announcement to be mad at her. "You were? Did mom?"

Ginny shook her head. "I ended up telling the guy I work with about it today, and he was angry enough that he did it, hard. It really hurt." Ginny knew her eyes were still red from crying, and hoped it was enough for Ron to believe her.

He was looking at her closely. "You wouldn't lie about something like that would you," he mumbled to himself. "I can't believe you were actually punished for something."

"Yeah, well don't rub it in," Ginny grumped. "I also have wanted to tell you for a while about the time we ice skated this past winter." She glanced at Ron, and could tell he was listening. "Well, I was punished then too, and I know you guys weren't, so I think that makes up for other times any of you were punished and I wasn't when I should have been. At least it makes up for that a little."

Ron looked dumbfounded, and Ginny could feel herself blushing a little. "I have been acting like a jerk though haven't I," Ron said, getting out of his bed for something other than dinner or chores for the first time in days. "I mean I know you did try to tell mum, and you did get me out of being grounded. I'm sorry."

"You don't really have much to be sorry for actually," Ginny smiled slightly. "But I'm glad things are back to normal."

Ron smiled. "I do have to agree. It would have been bad if I had left for school still mad at you."

Ginny looked around at Ron's half packed trunk. "You know, I am going to miss you. It will be lonely with just me in the house."

Ron looked fully into Ginny's eyes. "Just think, only another year and you will be joining the rest of us." He paused a few moments, then added, "But I will miss you too."


	10. Go or Stay

**Ch 11 Go or Stay**

Ginny came home in tears after seeing all her brothers off to school. Now it was only her and her mother through most of the day. Unfortunately her mother never had been very interesting, since all she seemed to do all day was read, clean, or start knitting her annual Christmas sweaters.

That was why Ginny was happier than ever to still be working with Lupin. She was now spending even longer hours with him. Her mom had been fine with her now spending seven or eight hour days. Ginny knew this also meant an even greater chance of encountering something dangerous. She wasn't keen to have the paddle pulled out anytime soon, and she had been doing very well listening to Lupin if he told her to do anything.

Something she was having more trouble with however was going home. At the end of each day Lupin would say it was time to go home, and Ginny would do her best to stall her departure. She usually managed to stay about a half hour longer this way, and she could tell Lupin was losing his patience when she did this. But she really didn't want to be home much anymore. It felt very lonely, and the house seemed much too big.

"Can we maybe play a game of wizard's chess," Ginny asked hopefully one day, after Lupin said it was time for her to go home.

"I don't think so," Lupin said slowly. "You really do need to be going home."

"We don't have to play chess," Ginny continued. "Maybe you can teach me about another spell." Lupin had been showing her the concepts and incantations for several basic spells. Ginny felt sure she was going to be ahead when she went to Hogwarts.

"Not tonight. I've already shown you the unlocking charm today. I need to leave some work for your teachers, and some responsibility for you to study when you go to school," Lupin was trying to sound serious, but he couldn't hold back a smile. He didn't want to admit just how much he enjoyed teaching Ginny.

Ginny still didn't make any move to leave. Lupin decided ignoring her might work until she got bored, so he got up to start some of his research. He was starting to look through the second chapter of the large leather bound book he had borrowed from the ministry before he glanced at Ginny again. She was still sitting stubbornly, and playing with her hair.

Lupin sighed and closed the book. "Do we really have to make it such a struggle every night for me to get you home?"

Ginny didn't answer.

"You will be coming back tomorrow," he said. "It's not like I won't see you again." He didn't need to ask why Ginny didn't want to go home. He already knew from asking her a few weeks ago when she had avoided going home on September first. She didn't want to go home as an only child, and be ignored by her parents.

"You parents can't ignore you all the time," Lupin had said after hearing Ginny's complaint that day. "I know your parents, and they care for you very much."

"Yeah but they aren't fun to talk to. I usually like to play and talk with my brothers when they're home because we have the same interests," Ginny said miserably. Her eyes were still a bit red from when she'd been crying after saying goodbye to them. "I can sometimes talk to them, but we never have held an interesting conversation for more than ten minutes. Mum's too serious, and dad's too tired from his long days of work."

Lupin hadn't been able to think of a good argument for this. What she was saying did make sense, and probably was at least somewhat true.

"Ginny, you just don't live here. You need to spend some of your time in your own house," Lupin said, coming out of his memories.

Ginny still didn't answer, but only continued to play with and twist her hair. Lupin had enough, he understood she was lonely, but now she was being disrespectful. "Alright," he said in a cool voice. "You can stay here, but you need to be standing in that corner."

Ginny finally stopped playing with her hair and looked up at him. "I don't need to stand in the corner. If you're allowing me to now stay in your house I should be able to stay right here."

Lupin forced himself to stay calm. "I won't ask you again. Either get into that corner now until you're ready to go home, or I can give you those same options after I give you a sore bottom."

Those words did it. "Fine, "Ginny snapped. She got off the couch and stomped into the corner. Lupin watched her stand there a few moments. He really didn't want to have to punish her, and he did understand how lonely home could be since he was an only child himself. But she really couldn't be allowed to stay at his house the entire day every day. He hoped this would be a good way to make her decide to go home in a more gentle way. But he also knew this girl could be so stubborn.

Ginny stayed in the corner, trying not to back down for nearly half an hour. After that she couldn't stand in that spot any longer, not when she knew she did have the choice to leave.

Finally she turned around, and Lupin looked up. "Are you ready to go home now?" he asked. "Because if you're not, you better turn around again."

"I'm going home," Ginny muttered grumpily.

"I'm glad to hear it. I will see you tomorrow then."

Ginny didn't respond, but stomped to the door, grabbed her broom, and left. Lupin hated to make himself the bad guy once again, but he also knew she had been allowed to be spoiled her entire life and get away with anything. Some amount of discipline was needed in everyone's life, and somebody had to teach her a few things.

After the next day of work things happened very similarly. Ginny and Lupin had just finished their third game of exploding snap, when Lupin announced it was time to go.

"How about just one more game?"

"No," Lupin said firmly. "I have been fighting with you for weeks about going home. I think I am going to make a rule that by four each day you are either in the corner or heading home. So it's a little after four now, make your decision."

Ginny glared at him, and Lupin gave her a stern look. Finally with a huff she stomped into the corner. This time she only stayed fifteen minutes in the corner before grabbing her broom and going home. Lupin felt satisfied, his plan seemed to be working. Soon Ginny would hopefully just go home each day on her own.

But for the next week this became the pattern. Around four, Lupin would simply mention the time. Then Ginny would grumble and stand in the corner. Some days she was more stubborn than others, and one day it was a full hour before Ginny finally relented and went home.

Then the day before the full moon came.

At five of four Lupin braced himself for what he had to say next. "Ginny it's time to go home, and tomorrow is a day that you need to take off," he said.

Ginny's reaction was about what he expected it to be. It was the first time Lupin was telling her to take the day off since her youngest brother had left the house. "No, come on, I don't want to stay home all day tomorrow," Ginny whined.

"You know the routine either way. Corner or home."

Ginny gave a strange snarl, but didn't move to the corner. Lupin closed his eyes and tried to relax. He was already feeling the effects of the moon, and his temper was beginning to raise faster than it would have otherwise.

"Now, Ginny. I won't tell you again," he warned, fighting to keep his voice even.

"I don't want to go stand in the corner," Ginny snapped. "I'm ten years old."

"Then go home."

Ginny didn't respond or make any move, and that was when Lupin's resolve to not punish her broke. In one stride he was in front of Ginny and had a hold of her wrist. Then he pulled her to the kitchen chair.

"Let go," Ginny cried. "Alright, I'll go home, I'm sorry."

"Now you're sorry, only because you know what's coming," Lupin said in a low voice. He swiftly pulled her over his lap. He held her down as he reached in his robe for his wand.

Ginny had seen him do this once before, and last time he grabbed his wand, it had been to bare her bottom. "No, please leave my clothes alone," Ginny cried. She reached back to grab the waist of her pants, but before she could Lupin had flicked his wand and they were instantly down to her ankles. Ginny knew how much more a spanking hurt without that protection.

Ginny began to kick as Lupin's hand swatted her over and over. She felt really stupid now. It wasn't the longest spanking she had ever been put through, but it hadn't meant it didn't hurt, especially with a bare bottom.

After Lupin gave the two dozen Ginny's clothes returned to their normal position with one flick of his wand. "Now I'm not giving you a choice, you will go stand in the corner for fifteen minutes, and then you will go home. I don't want to hear another word of argument," he said firmly.

Sniffing and Rubbing her eyes, Ginny shuffled into the corner. This time it was much worse. She wasn't standing here as long as she wanted to stay here, now she was standing here because she was being made to. It made a huge difference. Before she could come out whenever she wanted, and now she knew if she stepped out to go home she'd probably be punished more. Then there was just the fact that she had pushed things so far as to get Lupin mad at her.

When her fifteen minutes were up, Lupin called her out and told her once again to go home. She looked at him, "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you today," Ginny said quietly. Lupin still seemed mad at her, even though she'd been punished. It made her scared he would never forgive her this time. She didn't know why she was always so stubborn, and didn't just listen the first time she was told to go home.

"I'll believe your apology more if we don't have to fight to get you home next time," Lupin said quietly. But he still came closer and hugged her. "You really do need to go home though."

Ginny nodded and sadly got her broom to leave. After Ginny was out of sight, Lupin stepped outside for a long walk to wait for the moon to come out. As always he was dreading this particular night of the month, and couldn't wait until it was over. Hopefully he would be lucky this time and wouldn't destroy his cabin again tonight.

Ginny had a lot of quiet free time to herself to think about how she had been acting. She spent the entire day she had to stay home outside so she could think. The way Lupin still seemed angry with her made her miserable the entire day, and she knew she was going to have to talk to him about it. She didn't want to act like a child anymore.

"You've been very quiet today," Lupin noted softly as they both returned to the cabin after finishing the scouting the next day.

"Actually, I've wanted to talk to you about something," Ginny said nervously. "I just don't know how to say what I'm thinking, or even how to start."

"Let's sit down with a drink, and you can take your time how you want to start," Lupin said gently.

The warm look in his eyes relaxed Ginny, and she could see he wasn't mad at her anymore as she had feared. This more than anything helped her to start talking. "I mostly wanted to truly apologize for how I've been acting the last few weeks," she said quietly. "You said two days ago the apology would have meant more if it wasn't right after being punished, so I'm saying it now."

"That apology means a lot to me," he said with a gentle smile. "Not just because it was a good sincere apology, but because it shows me how much you are growing up. You know you've changed a lot in the time I've known you."

"I can tell I've changed too," Ginny admitted. "I also have to say, since I've known you, I no longer feel so different from my brothers. It was almost like I was royalty or something. My brothers and I would get into trouble together often, and only they would be punished. In a weird way I actually like knowing I can do things wrong and make mistakes." She took a deep breath. "Does that make any sense?"

"It makes more sense to me than you probably realize," he replied softly.

Both Lupin and Ginny remained silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Ginny felt as light as air about finally being able to express some of her thoughts and emotions to Lupin, and from the compliment she had received. She felt she was now finally growing up, and was becoming more and more mature. While she was with her present company, that would always be a good thing.


	11. Christmas Plans

_Ok, so here it finally is. I'm so sorry it's been so long! I've just been having a hard time getting online lately, but it's not a very good excuse. _

_But I have a couple quick notes. First, even though it seems like Harry and Ginny may still be a pairing, I don't think that is what will happen. If Ginny gets any pairing, it probably won't be Harry as the story goes on. I just like to follow cannon where possible. Also because this chapter took me so long to put out and it's a shorter chapter, I am planning to get the next one out in the next day or two. It is almost done as well, so I should be able to do that. _

_But now I am getting into some Christmas chapters!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 12. Christmas plans<strong>

After Ginny had been punished for not going home, she never fought with Lupin again. It still hadn't changed her feelings about home though. She didn't try to stay inside Lupin's house anymore, but instead went home and sat outside. Now more than ever she couldn't wait for school, now that there were none of her brothers left at home.

Still the daily routine continued, and Ginny went out to work with Lupin everyday. Every day she also left exactly when he told her to. Occasionally one of the school's owls would fly into Ginny's window and drop off a letter from the twins or Ron (Percy hardly ever wrote to her). She looked forward to Ron's the most. He had become best friends with Harry Potter, and Ginny drank in everything her youngest brother told her.

"Did you know Harry Potter made the quidditch team," Ginny told Lupin one day as they went through their daily scouting.

"No I didn't, "Lupin said. "I thought he was only a first year. You told me he was on your brother's year."

"He is, and he's also best friends with Harry," Ginny said excitedly. She must have told Lupin this at least thirty times now.

Lupin didn't comment on the multiple explanations of her brother's friendship. "I thought first years weren't allowed on the team," Lupin explained.

"That's why it's so cool. He's a natural, and really talented."

Lupin was silent for a little while. The news that his best friend's son was becoming a lot like his father was overwhelming. He enjoyed hearing these stories that Ginny could tell him. Sometimes it was a little tiring to hear the same stories over and over again, but he always listened patiently through every repeat. He understood Ginny was a young girl with dreams, idols, and crushes.

Ginny then continued babbling on about anything she could think of. She talked about the subjects all her brothers were taking. How the twins had just started care of magical creatures, and their latest prank of letting the water imp out of it's tank so the entire class had to chase it. She talked about how Percy was writing once a week to her parents explaining his prefect duties. She even knew about how Ron's classes, and how the potions master seemed to hate Harry. Lupin would just listen quietly and interestedly to all of this, sometimes understanding more of it than he ever told Ginny.

One night after Ginny had returned from an exhausting day of helping Lupin, she could be found slumped on the couch half asleep while her parents were having a discussion. Several pixies were getting dangerously close to the edges of the forest, where muggle borders were. Needless to say, Ginny had been doing a lot of running today.

Ginny's eyelids were beginning to droop when she heard the name "Charlie" spoken. She opened her eyes and sat up a little straighter.

"What about Charlie?" she asked, interrupting something her father was about to say.

Both her parents looked at her. "We haven't wanted to tell you, because we don't think we can afford to do this," her father began. "But Charlie has mentioned in his last letter that he has a new and bigger apartment so we would have room to visit and stay with him."

Ginny had become excited at the thought of visiting her favorite brother for the holidays, but then the full sentence her father had spoken sunk in. "How much would it cost?" she asked.

Her parents exchanged uncomfortable looks again. "It's not the cost that's a problem," Mrs. Weasley said slowly. "You see, the company Charlie works for does not allow anyone who is underage in the area. It would be unsafe, without the knowledge or ability to protect yourself if need be. There are a lot of dragons in that area."

Ginny gaped at her parents. Not able to see her own brother because she was too young. "But dragons don't go flying in and out of Charlie's apartment do they?" Ginny asked outraged.

"Of course not, Ginny," Mrs. Weasly replied. "But we want to be able to leave Charlie's apartment, and look around and see the area he works at."

"What about next year then? If Charlie got a new and better apartment, won't it be possible to visit him next year too?"

"Well, it might be, but we don't think so," Mrs. Weasly said quietly.

"The problem is this may be the only year I can get a full week off work," Mr. Weasly said sadly. "I have been having more and more difficulty getting time off, and I had to fight to get a full week off this year."

Ginny thought about all this for a while, feeling more and more miserable. It felt like it was all her fault her parents wouldn't be able to see Charlie again. "I'm going to bed," Ginny finally announced, feeling a full night's sleep might help her feel better.

"You haven't gotten yourself into any trouble lately, have you?"

Ginny looked up quickly. Lupin's question was very unexpected. Not only was it only five minutes since she had arrived at his house, but it was just a very strange question to ask. "No, I'm not that much of a brat. Why would you think I've done something wrong?"

"I think I could argue with that statement," Lupin said with an amused expression. "But you've been really quiet, and I get the impression something is bothering you. Last time something was bothering you, a clock had been broken, you had been injured, and you had gotten your brothers into trouble."

"Oh," Ginny said. It was still amazing how Lupin seemed to be able to read her like a book. He still seemed to know her so well. Of course something was bothering Ginny, but she didn't know how to tell Lupin.

"What's wrong, Ginny," Lupin prompted softly.

She took a deep shaky breath. "My parents only have this one chance this year to see my older brother, who moved out over a year ago, but they can't now and it's all my fault." She said this all very fast.

Lupin looked at her for a moment. "How can something like that be your fault?"

Ginny explained everything her parents had told her.

"I see," Lupin said slowly.

"I just wish I were in school, or I had someplace else to stay. I know my parents won't let me spend a full week alone." Ginny was quiet a few moments. "Hey, what do you usually do during the holidays?"

"Nothing in particular," Lupin looked closely at Ginny. "And I don't think your parents would approve of you spending your Christmas with someone like me," he said doubtfully.

"You don't know that for sure," she said excitedly. "This could solve everything. My brothers could all just stay at school, and I could stay with you. It would be my most interesting holiday ever. I would love to spend it with you," she paused, looking closely at him. "As long as you wouldn't mind spending it with me?"

"Of course I wouldn't. Not spending another Christmas alone would mean a lot to me, but I really don't want you to spend it away from your family. That wouldn't be right."

"I'm going to talk to them about it tonight," she said decisively. "At least I won't feel like there are no options.

Then, feeling much better, Ginny set out with Lupin to begin the day.

XXX

"This feels so unreal," Ginny exclaimed, as she stepped inside with Lupin. "I can't believe I am going to spend Christmas here!"

Lupin smiled, but didn't say anything. He couldn't believe it either. After years of lonely holidays, here was this girl spending Christmas with him in his little house. It was more than he could believe. He still was in a bit of shock from the past conversation he had just had with Ginny's parents.

"Ginny mentioned to us that you would be willing to let her stay here for Christmas," Mrs. Weasley had said that day. She had come on that particular day to bring Ginny home, but really only came to talk to Lupin.

"I did mention that to her as a side thought," Lupin said apprehensively. "But I don't know how suitable you could find my house for a young girl to spend Christmas in away from her family."

"That's not a problem for us. Ginny speaks very highly of you, and has sounded very excited for the chance to stay here for a week. Our family would be very grateful as the possible offer still stands?"

Lupin hesitated.

"Please," Ginny said with shining eyes. Her face was extremely hopeful.

"Of course the offer still stands, and I would love to spend a week with Ginny," Lupin said. "As long as this arrangement wouldn't be a problem for you."

"Not a problem at all," Mrs. Wesaley said briskly. "It's settled then. Arthur and I aren't leaving until Christmas eve, so we will bring her here in the morning before we go. It will be for about nine days, so she will be here for new years as well. Now I have to head home to send the boys a quick owl telling them to stay at school."

So just like that, Lupin found he would be spending the holidays with a fun cheerful and intelligent little girl he was growing very fond of. It would be his first time since graduating Hogwarts that he wouldn't be alone. It made him happier than anyone else could possibly have known.


	12. The Niffler

_First of all, thanks so much to everyone for the reviews! They mean a lot to me :) _

_I'm also excited to say that I did it, just one day later I am ready to update again. This one is also kinda a fluffy and sweet chapter, but I hope you like it. It's the Christmas chapter after all. Hopefully it won't take me too much longer to get the next update out this time._

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><p><strong>Chapter 12 The Niffler<strong>

Ginny arrived in the morning on Christmas eve with packed bags and a very excited energy. She hugged and kissed both her parents to say good bye, and they soon left, leaving Ginny and Lupin alone.

"Now you do know, just because it's Christmas tomorrow it doesn't mean I get the day off," Lupin said, turning to her. "If you want the day off you can stay at the house."

"Are you kidding?" Ginny said. "Going scouting on Christmas is why I'm so excited. I'm usually so bored on Christmas, there just isn't much to do. It will be nice to finally have something besides eat, listen to the radio, and talk."

Lupin smiled. After Ginny put her bags in the cottage, they both headed out.

It turned out to be a very good day of scouting. The atmosphere was very good between the two. Both Lupin and Ginny felt very happy about how things had turned out. But best of all they found an orphan baby niffler that needed care. He was left alone and couldn't be left in the cold snow. Ginny fell in love with him right away as she got to carry him home at the end of the scouting trip.

"I want to give him a name," Ginny said, after they had settled him in a pen with shelter Lupin had magically built outside. He had refused to let Ginny keep him inside since it would most likely result in Lupin's house being destroyed.

"That is not the best idea," Lupin said softly as he pulled out his paperwork. "You give him a name, and you will grow even more attached to him. We have to let him go after we've nursed him back to health again."

Ginny groaned. "Aww come on, don't be that way. It's Christmas."

Lupin smiled gently as he began to start writing the day's report. "How about you make sure you're settled in for the week, and once I'm done with the report we can go look for a Christmas tree."

Ginny cheered, and began to go through her stuff to make sure it was all in order.

Lupin and Ginny had to look hard to find the perfect tree. It had been with much pickiness from Ginny, but Lupin had finally managed to find a satisfying tree. With a hover charm, Lupin got it back to the cabin and stood it up in the corner.

"Now we need to decorate it," he muttered. Ginny watched as he pulled out some red ribbon from a drawer and used an elongating spell.

Together the two draped the ribbon around the branches, and gave it some color. "I've also brought some of my own favorite ornaments from home," Ginny said pulling them out of her bag.

She had brought about a dozen beautiful glass ornaments, each with a different design. She also pulled out the gift she had made for Lupin, and Lupin placed one under the tree for her as well. With the ribbon, wrapped gifts, and ornaments, the tree looked quite nice. By the time they were finished it was dinner time.

After dinner, Lupin and Ginny went out to take care of the niffler. Lupin showed her what nifflers ate, and together they both helped the little thing eat. He was very weak.

That night, Ginny couldn't sleep. For one thing she didn't want to sleep. It felt almost like camping to be out in the middle of the woods, snow falling outside in the starlight, and the sound of animals nearby. Somehow the feeling felt more magical than any spell she had ever seen performed. But also there was the thought of the niffler.

Quielty she crept of the bed that had been transfigured by Lupin from the couch, and tiptoed outside in just her slippers. It was cold and dark, but worth it to see Godrick, the name she had secretly chosen for him. She just wanted to spend a few moments watching him outside on this magical night. He instanly woke up from a sound sleep at the sound of her footsteps in the snow. Unlike expected niffler behavior, the tired creature continued to lie in his bed and watch her curiously instead of getting up to see her. Ginny couldn't help but feel a little nervous about his chances for recovery.

It wasn't long before the door opened, and Lupin poked his head out. "Ginny? What are you doing out there?"

Ginny jumped and ran to the house. "I just wanted to see Go- er the niffler," she said innocently.

"What were you about to call him? You didn't name him anyway did you?" Lupin said in an exasperated voice. "And you also went outside alone, in only slippers and pajamas? Do you have any sense at all?"

"I was only going to spend a few minutes out there," Ginny said, trying her best innocent little girl look on him.

Lupin sighed. "All right, but please don't do that again. Even close to the house, it could be dangerous outside here for you at night. You don't know any spells or have a wand to defend yourself. Then you add the risk for hypothermia to that danger."

"Ok," Ginny said softly.

"I'll see you in the morning then," Lupin said gently, and the both headed back to bed. After being outside in the cold, the warm bed felt very pleasant and Ginny fell asleep rather quickly.

Ginny woke up very early that morning, feeling very excited. Her first thought was of Godric, but she knew Lupin did not want her to go out and see him alone. Still she didn't think she could help herself. It was Christmas after all, and she didn't want to leave a small niffler alone outside on Christmas, especially since he was sick. If she snuck out very quietly Lupin wouldn't even have to know.

Again, in just slippers and pajamas, Ginny very slowly tiptoed out the door. Godrick was softly nestled in a pile of hey in his pen. When Ginny approached him he jumped up very eagerly and ran to her curiously.

"you're looking better," Ginny murmured as he sniffed her.

Pretty quickly Ginny began to shiver violently. She knew she couldn't stay long. "I'll see you again later today she whispered," and stood to leave.

When she entered the house, Lupin was in the kitchen, obviously just having come out from his bedroom. He was giving her a rather stern and angry look.

"I was just…" Ginny trailed off nervously.

Lupin took a few steps closer, and Ginny backed away from him. "You look very cold, maybe I can warm one part of your body right now," Lupin said coldly.

"I'm warm enough," Ginny squeaked, giving the feeble lie away with a shiver.

Lupin caught up to her and snatched her hand. "Didn't I tell you to not go out there alone? And you still didn't even have the sense to put on warm clothes."Lupin was dragging her to the kitchen chair.

"Come on, Lupin. It's Christmas. You can't do this today," Ginny said trying to pull away as Lupin sat down.

Lupin stopped and looked into her face. He sighed. "Alright, you get one free one. Consider it an extra Christmas present," he said much more gently. He let go of Ginny, and she gave a sigh of relief. "Now how about you get warmed by the fire and dress, and we can take care of the niffler."

Ginny nodded, and gratefully went to stand by the warm fire.

Half an hour later, a fully dressed Ginny and Lupin went to go take care of Godric. As Ginny fed him, Lupin stood over them both and watched. "So I have to know, what did you name him?" Lupin asked.

"I didn't name him," Ginny said quickly.

"Don't tell me that. I know you gave him some kind of name, even though I told you not to. I know how much of a brat you are," Lupin sounded almost amused.

"I'm not a brat. But his name is Godric, if you really want to know. After the founder of the house I will be sorted in. I figured he was brave to have survived by himself in this cold weather."

"That makes sense. But how do you know you'll be in Gryffindor?"

"Because I'm very brave, just like the rest of my family," she said proudly.

"Or maybe just stubborn," Lupin chuckled.

After they finished with Godric, Lupin and Ginny had a long Christmas breakfast. Then they opened gifts. Ginny had made Lupin a hand knitted Christmas tree decoration she had done completely on her own.

"I'm getting good at it," she said proudly as they put it on the tree together. It really brightened it up. There was also an all season knitted picture of the woods and change every few minutes with magic to look like a different season. "Mum had to help me with the picture, and of course she used the spell," Ginny admitted as Lupin hung it on his door.

"They're both beautiful," Lupin said happily.

Ginny beamed, and went to open her own gift. It was a jar with a beautiful multicolored ball of light. "This is so pretty," she said softly, turned it to see all the shades of blue, red, pink, purple, and green.

"This is a very tricky thing to make," Lupin explained. "I had to read a lot of books and practice several times to get it right. It's a very complicated potion with a lot of spells and charms put cast on it. But let me show you what it does."

He took it from Ginny. "Of course like this it can be a nightlight in your room." He opened the jar and took it out. "But you can also hold it and play with it. Make it into any shape you want." It moved very easily and he molded it into a pine tree. Then handed it to Ginny.

It was warm and smooth in her hands, and had a strange consistency to it. She molded it into a few objects before Lupin spoke again. "It can also make small stars. Just throw it very hard toward the ceiling."

Ginny did so, and as it flew up the ball separated into several very small pieces and stuck to the ceiling. It did look a lot like twinkling stars. "You can do that in your bedroom at night, and it can remind you of the night sky outside," he said. "Then when you want them back, just hold this jar out." Lupin held the jar and one by one each little star quickly zoomed inside and formed into a single smooth ball once again.

"Thanks Lupin, I really love it," Ginny said, beaming. The stars on her ceiling would remind her of being in the woods.

Ginny and Lupin started the day slowly that morning, and got out the door late to begin scouting. It was pretty uneventful, but pleasant to scout on Christmas. The woods with the glittering snow were still very pretty to Ginny.

Both had a hot lunch while they were out, and got back to the cabin late. It was already dinner time when they stepped in the door. Right away they had to take care of Godric. Lupin used the infernio spell a few times to create a small fire that Godric loved. But after nearly an hour of this, both Ginny and Lupin were very hungry and cold. So they went in to make a hot dinner and get warm by the fire.

The end of that Christmas ended peacefully and pleasantly. They played a few games of gobstones and chess, while listening to the crackling fire. Pretty quickly Ginny felt exhausted and was told to get ready for bed. She didn't object and was soon asleep and comfortable after a long and happy Christmas.


	13. Godric and a Young Gryffindor

_As I mentioned on my profile, I'm so sorry for my long absence! Things have been kinda bad for a while, and I haven't gotten around to fanfiction. But now I finally have the next chapter._

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><p><strong>Chapter 13 Godric and a young Gryffindor<strong>

The day after Christmas was uneventful and quiet. Lupin had allowed Ginny to sleep in late since she had been very tired from the day before. Before and after scouting they spent quite a while with Godric to try to get his strength back so he could be let free again. He first had to learn to dig and search for food himself. It was a process that would probably take a few weeks. He would need to be at peek strength to be able to dig through the frozen ground.

That night Ginny didn't feel very tired after Lupin had gone to bed. She kept thinking about Godric, and decided to try one more time to be sneaky to go outside and see him. She figured she had been moving too quickly on the other times she had tried to sneak outside. It was once again a very calm and peaceful night, and Godric was just so cute.

It was scary to be sneaking out like this again, but Ginny wasn't going to allow herself to be a afraid. The journey to the door was painfully slow. She let herself have a soundless sigh of relief after she softly closed the door behind her. She smiled triumphantly and quietly tiptoed her way to Godric.

Once she had stepped inside his pen, he once again excitedly jumped out of his hay and began to sniff her. She couldn't help but giggle, and soon Godric was chasing her around as she ran from him. It was a fun game, but perhaps noisier than she had meant it to be.

"Once again I find you outside, without warm clothes, alone at night, and disobeying a direct order I gave you," said a cold voice from behind her.

Ginny jumped and spun around. Her heart hammered against her chest. "I'm sorry Lupin, I'll just go to bed now if you want," she said quietly, trying to edge around him to go back to the house.

"Yes you will be going to bed, after you've received a spanking." Lupin quickly reached out and grabbed Ginny's wrist. He walked briskly into the house, pulling her behind him.

"But you can't tonight, it's not fair. I just wanted to see Godric. It's not fair he should sleep outside by himself."

"He will have to live alone when he has been let free. But besides that, this is the third strike and it is also not Christmas anymore." By now Lupin had sat on the kitchen chair and was dragging Ginny over his lap.

"No, please just let me go to bed," Ginny wailed.

Lupin's only reply was his hand impacting Ginny's bottom sharply. After about two dozen hard spanks Lupin finished and let her up. "Now I'm hoping this disobeying me to see the niffler is over. I catch you out there again day or night without permission and I will go straight to the paddle."

It hadn't been a very hard spanking, but Ginny had gotten the message from Lupin anyway. She nodded, and still sniffling, settled herself into bed.

After that, the rest of Ginny's stay with Lupin went without a problem. On the last day of her stay, Ginny felt sad to have to say goodbye, but was a bit excited to see her family again. She wanted to hear all about the visit with Charlie, and what his work was really like.

It wasn't until nearly dinner time on the day after new years that Ginny's parents both arrived to bring her home. "Have all your stuff rounded up?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Yup, I'm all set. See you tomorrow," Ginny called to Lupin.

Lupin nodded and went inside. If Ginny hadn't known any better she would say he seemed very sad to see her go too. But at least she would be seeing him tomorrow.

January was a very cold month. Scouting was becoming difficult in the brutal cold and winds, but Ginny still stuck it through and came every day. Each scouting trip was followed by at least an hour of sitting in front of the fire and getting warm again. This relaxation after the day in the cold made it even more difficult for Ginny to leave. But she now knew better than to argue, even on the day Lupin told her the next day was a day she was not allowed to come.

Godric was doing really well also. His strength was back, and so was all his energy. Now he was quite a lot to handle, and Lupin had to build him a sturdier pen with a roof. Eventually, during a particularly warm week, Lupin said he was ready to be freed.

"I'm going to miss him," Ginny sighed. The little niffler had nearly doubled in size in just the last few weeks.

"I have to finish some last minute paperwork for him to be let loose in the woods again. Now you have my permission if you would like to stay out here alone with him. You can keep my wand, and use the spell I've shown you to send sparks past my window if there is any trouble." He handed her his wand. Ginny did know how to do that discharge of energy now. It was about as easy as any magic could be.

"Do not use that wand for anything else. I'm sure your own parents have told you rules about using a wand when you're underage?"

"Yes, I'm not allowed," Ginny mumbled.

"Good. This paperwork may take me a while, so make sure you come in if you get too cold," Lupin headed into the house.

Ginny and Godric played and romped for a little while, but the cold was getting to be too much and Ginny was soon shivering very hard.

Ginny didn't want to leave though. Pretty soon she would never see Godric again. She looked at the wand Lupin had handed her. She knew the spell to create a small fire. Godric loved to sit by them too. Maybe if she whispered the incantation, the fire would be so small Lupin wouldn't see it.

"Infernio," she whispered.

A small flame came out of the wand, sending wonderful warmth to Godric and Ginny. But it didn't last long. She said the spell again, and with some more concentration, found she could keep the fire for longer periods of time.

As the fire weakened again, Ginny put extra concentration into the thought of having a warm fire, and suddenly a very large flame exploded from the wand. It burned down half of Godric's pen, and lit one side of Lupin's house on fire.

Ginny managed to grab Godric before he could escape. "Lupin!" she called frantically. "Help!"

She quickly shot some intese sparks in front of the window, but they weren't needed. At that moment Lupin burst from the door and came running toward her. "What did you do!" he yelled. "Let me have my wand."

With a trembling hand Ginny gave him his wand. Immediately water jetted from it and Lupin was able to put the fire out. It hadn't been a very strong one, it was just a big fire with no magical properties, so there wasn't much difficulty to put it out. With a few more spells Lupin was able to repair the burnt wood and make it look like it had before. Then with a simple repairing spell he fixed Godric's pen.

"I'm so sorry Lupin. I'm sorry," Ginny whimpered. She couldn't stop shaking. That had been pretty terrifying.

Lupin didn't answer, but took Godric from her arms and put him back in the repaired pen. Then he pulled her inside.

Ginny was still crying, but she could see where Lupin was taking her. She certainly didn't want to stand in the corner, but she knew she deserved it this time. She had really screwed up.

After Lupin had pushed her firmly in the corner he spoke. "Stand here, for at least half an hour, and then we can talk about this. I think we both need a while to calm down," he sounded angrier than Ginny had ever heard him. Even though Ginny was now in the warm house, she shivered harder than ever.

Each minute was agony. Ginny heard Lupin continuing paper work for quite a while. When he finally finished he sent it to the ministry with his reliable owl. Then he made himself a cup of tea and sat down. Ginny imagined he was probably calming himself down. She could feel his eyes on her every once in a while.

Finally after what felt like forever, Lupin called her out in a much calmer and gentler voice. Slowly Ginny walked to him and sat on the couch next to him.

"I really am sorry," Ginny whispered before Lupin could talk. "Is your house going to be alright?"

"Yes, I think I have fixed the damage completely, so there shouldn't be any problems there."

"Oh," was all Ginny could think to say.

"What were you thinking?" Lupin's voice was now calm and normal, but Ginny could tell he was still mad at her.

"I just wanted to make a small fire for me and Godri- I mean the niffler. I was getting cold." She knew it sounded bad.

"Didn't I tell you to come inside if you got cold?" Lupin waited for an answer, so Ginny nodded. "And didn't I expressly forbid you from using my wand for anything more than sparks for an emergency?"

Now her eyes were filling with tears, but Ginny still nodded.

"I know you know you're in huge trouble. I thought I could trust you with my wand today, but you have proven me wrong. I can't just let this go." Lupin stood up and headed to the kitchen drawers where the cutting board was kept. "You could have killed the niffler we worked so hard to save, completely destroyed my house, or worse, severly injured yourself. I think I thorough blistering is nothing to the pain you could have been in if you had burnt yourself."

"No Lupin," Ginny moaned through her tears. "Can't you just use your hand?"

Lupin pulled out the cutting board, and soon it was turned into the all to familiar paddle. "Honestly, Ginny. What punishment do you feel you deserve. Not what punishment do you want, but what do you think you truly deserve right now?" Lupin asked coolly.

"I don't know," Ginny mumbled miserably.

Lupin motioned for her to come over to him, and Ginny reluctantly stood up, but didn't come closer. "Let me ask you this way," Lupin continued. "If your brothers had used a wand without permission to do a spell they shouldn't have, how would they be punished?"

Ginny knew how they would be punished. One time Fred and George had stolen their mother's wand to try to get Ron to make an unbreakable vow. The twins had then received the paddling of their lives, by her father of all people. But Ginny couldn't answer.

"I know you know the answer. So come here. Don't make me get up to get you," Lupin said sternly.

With another whimper, Ginny finally came up to within arms reach. Lupin swiftly pulled her over his lap, and wasted no time with his hand. Ginny was soon crying and kicking, and she knew the worst had not even come yet.

Lupin then picked up the paddle from the table. Ginny gasped and redoubled any efforts to get away. She had forgotten just how much the horrible thing hurt. Again and again it crashed into her, and Ginny could do nothing about it.

After what must have been the hardest paddling of her life, Lupin finally stopped and let Ginny cry herself out over his lap. It had been horrible. Ginny knew one thing for sure, she would not be taking anyone's wand and using an illegal spell on it again.

Once Ginny had stopped crying, she finally pushed herself up and allowed Lupin to hug her. "I'm still sorry," Ginny whispered into him.

"I know, but it is over now, and you are forgiven," Lupin murmured. "Now are you almost ready to set Godric free? He will be beginning a new life."

Ginny smiled as Lupin used the name she had picked out for the little niffler. "Yeah, but I am still going to miss him," she said quietly. She had a feeling the tears she had shed from her paddling weren't the only ones she would have all day. It really was going to be hard to say goodbye to him. Even if he had been a source of a lot of trouble she had gotten herself into.


	14. Spring Fever

_So here's a fairly short fluffy little chapter. I promise the next one will be longer!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 14 Spring Fever<strong>

Saying goodbye to Godric had been very difficult for Ginny. She wished she could have kept him as a pet, but knew it wouldn't be a good idea for several reasons. The main reason being that Godric belonged in the woods free to hunt for food and meet other wild nifflers.

The very long and harsh January finally turned to Febuary, which dragged into March. Upon the arrival of March, the weather slowly began to improve, and each day did not seem quite so brutally cold.

Once April had arrived, Ginny began to get excited for the return of her brothers. Normally she wouldn't be excited for this, because she knew she had to reduce her hours to nearly half of what she was doing now, but she very much wanted Ron to tell her any stories he could about Harry Potter. She had heard about him since she was very little, and it was very exciting to her that her older brother was good friends with him.

May was very rainy that year. Ginny and Lupin would return soaking wet and chilled several times after a scouting trip. Because of this, it wasn't much of a surprise that Ginny woke up feeling like she was wearing a fifty pound vest one morning.

She groaned as she rolled out of bed and stretched achy muscles. She thought there was no doubt that she was sick. But she didn't want to skip the day of work with Lupin. She decided to try her best to keep quiet about it, suck it up, and get through the day anyway. She could be tough.

Of course it was never as easy to fool Lupin as it always was with her mother.

"Ginny, what's wrong today. You're acting a little off," Lupin asked after only about one minute of walking.

"It's nothing," Ginny said quickly.

"Then why won't you look at me?"

Ginny hesitated, unsure of what to do. She had in fact been avoiding looking at him because she knew her eyes were red and her face was pale. She didn't want to make what she was trying to hide into a blatant lie, but she didn't want him to find out she was sick either.

After several moments of silent walking, Lupin stopped. "Alright Ginny. Look at me please. I know you're trying to hide something from me."

Slowly Ginny looked up into Lupin's warm brown eyes. It startled her for a moment to see the many emotions within them. Concern, understanding, a hint of exasperation, sternness, and something else she couldn't place. "See it's nothing," Ginny repeated in the same quiet voice in an attempt to hide the raspiness of it.

"No it's not. I can tell you're sick," Lupin said firmly looking closer at her. "Why were you trying to hide this from me?"

"Because I didn't want to take the day off. You're not going to make me are you?" She tried once more to give him her best puppy face, even though it had yet to show any effect on him.

"Of course I am. We're going back to the house," he said while he stood, turned back to the cabin, and pulled Ginny's hand until she had turned around as well. Ginny didn't complain or resist, knowing it was pointless to do so. She silently followed Lupin back, oddly feeling more comforted by his concern than annoyed at his protectiveness. Once inside, Lupin put the tea kettle on the stove.

Before he could speak, Ginny slumped down on the couch. "I know what you're going to say. I need to relax for the day, take care of myself, and drink plenty of fluids. You're probably going to make me drink something right now and go home."

Lupin sat on the couch next to Ginny, looking amused. "Yeah, you pretty much summed up what I was about to tell you," he said with a gentle smile.

"This is why I was hoping you wouldn't find out. I knew you'd overreact. It's just a cold, "Ginny grumbled.

"About that," Lupin said sounding much more firm now. "I'm warning you now, don't try to hide anything like this from me again. I want to know if something is physically wrong with you. I can tell you have something much worse than a simple cold. Trudging in this cold damp woods all day would probably not be in your best interest. I'm expecting you're not going to be well enough tomorrow to come judging by how you look now."

At that moment the kettle whistled, and Lupin stood to prepare some tea. "I'm betting you're wrong, and I will be just fine tomorrow," Ginny mumbled as Lupin poured the hot water into mugs. Her words were not unnoticed.

Once the tea was made, Lupin sat back down and handed a cup to Ginny. "You say you know me by now, but don't forget I also know you. I can predict you will come here no matter how horrible you feel tomorrow you will somehow drag yourself here. If that is the case you will be sitting very uncomfortably as soon as you feel better. Now drink your tea," he said calmly.

Ginny didn't argue and slumped back into the couch to finish her tea. She must have been more ill and tired than she thought, because next thing she knew Lupin was shaking her awake. She found herself leaned into his shoulder. She felt slightly embarrassed for falling asleep on him, but she also couldn't ignore the warm feeling she had because Lupin had not made her get off him.

"Come, you need to go home to your own bed," Lupin said gently. "I'll come with you to make sure you get home alright."

Ginny nodded, and allowed Lupin to help her up. The flight home went by in a daze. She was cold, exhausted, and achy. It wasn't easy to fly home, and she was glad Lupin was flying next to her in case she fell off.

"Go straight to bed, and do not let me see you again until you are one-hundred percent healthy," Lupin said quietly but firmly.

Too tired to argue, Ginny nodded, and did as she was told. She was asleep within seconds of crawling into bed.

Unfortunately, Lupin had been correct about Ginny's illness. The next day she felt far worse, and slept the entire day away. Her mother noticed she was sick, and spent the day babying her. It wasn't until the next day Ginny had her internal battle. She felt better, but was still not perfect. She wanted to get out of bed and go into the woods, but Lupin's warning stuck with her. Her mother's constant service made it worse, because Ginny couldn't even step out of bed to get her own glass of water. In the end she decided to not risk the spanking. "See Lupin, I can listen to you," Ginny muttered to herself that day as she moped in bed.

The day after that, Ginny was almost perfect, and couldn't stand her bed any longer. She decided she was well enough to go. Only her muscles were slightly achy, but the rest of her felt fine. So she refused her mother's care and jumped on her broom to leave the house. The flight and fresh air felt good. Ginny landed to find Lupin already outside the house.

"I can see you feel better," he said, looking closely at her face. "You have color again, and you don't look tired anymore at least."

"Yup, I thought I was ready to come again," said happily. "I was even good and didn't come yesterday."

"So you feel completely better today? There are no lingering symptoms?" Lupin asked suspiciously.

Ginny hesitated very slightly. "yeah, I'm fine."

Lupin took a step closer, and Ginny took an involuntary step back. "Care to repeat that?" he said coolly.

Ginny gulped. Why did he know her so well. Sometimes she was sure he could read her mind. She tried to make her voice strong and casual, "I mean I only have some muscle aches still. But really, I'm healthy enough to be out of bed."

"I've told you before, I will not tolerate lying," he said calmly. "I also didn't want you to come while you were still recovering. You could have a relapse."

Ginny knew this tone of voice. She was sure she was about to be punished. Then Lupin would send her home, and she would have to spend another day moping. She could only stare silently, her entire body tense and waiting for what was going to happen next.

But Lupin surprised her. He knelt down in front of her and pulled her clenched hands away from her sides. "But I'm also very glad you didn't come yesterday," he said gently, uncurling her fingers. "You would have been in a lot more trouble. I also have missed having your company these last couple of days so it's nice to have you here again."

Ginny looked fully into his warm eyes. "Does this mean you're not going to punish me?"

"No, I believe you are telling the truth about how you feel, and I am happy you listened yesterday. You're off the hook."

It sounded too good to be true. "Can I also stay for the day?"

"Well," Lupin hesitated.

"Please," Ginny begged, giving her best puppy face.

"That look doesn't work on me," Lupin said sternly, but Ginny could hear the amusement in his voice. "You can help me out for a couple hours, but then I want you to head home early."

Ginny decided she was happy with this, and she was glad this day wasn't wasted after all.


	15. Summer

_As I promised, this chapter did turn out longer than the last one! I wanted to also mention that this story will definitely not have a Ginny/Harry pairing. I know it almost may seem like that will be the case in this chapter, but Ginny only is interested in Harry because he is famous. I like to follow some cannon for a while, but if Ginny has any pairing at all in this story, I promise it won't be Harry. _

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><p><strong>Chapter 15: Summer<strong>

The rest of spring seemed to fly by quickly, and before Ginny knew it her brothers were all going to return home soon. It was exciting because once her brothers were all home she wouldn't have to stay home alone anymore. She was going to go to school with them, instead of watching them leave without her. But it was also a little sad because she was approaching her last days that she would be allowed out of the house for so many hours.

A few days before her brothers were due to return home, Ginny overheard her parents talking about some crazy adventure her brother had gone through. It involved a magical stone, a three-headed dog, strangling plants, another troll, flying keys, a giant chess board, and a concussion. But from what she heard, he was alright, and she was glad. She would have to wait to hear all the details from him once he was home.

She did tell Lupin everything she knew about the incident. He seemed genuinely interested to hear about it.

"I'm very impressed to hear your brother and his friends got through all those protections," Lupin said, after she's explained the story to the best of her ability. "Hopefully the stone is going to be destroyed now. It's not worth having it with the possible dangers it created to the school." He seemed to be saying these last words to himself.

Ginny had the feeling he knew more about the story she just told him than he was saying. "So what is this stone, and why is it dangerous? Why did my brother put himself in danger just to try and get it? I don't understand much of this."

Lupin now stopped walking and looked at her. "The stone is what is known as the sorcerer's stone. It can grant eternal life. This is only a good guess, but I would bet Harry Potter and your brother somehow had reason to believe Voldemort was going to try to get it to come back into power."

Ginny couldn't prevent herself from flinching at the name. "I wonder why they thought it was their responsibility to get the stone," she said quietly. "Couldn't an adult with more knowledge about the protection around the stone and more magical ability done that instead?"

Lupin knelt down so he was level with Ginny. She still seemed a little shaken about what she had heard. He put his hands on her shoulders, and she slowly looked up into his warm brown eyes. "I don't know what might have happened at the school that led those three to believe it was their responsibility to do what they did. But I will say again it is amazing they are alright."

"I'm impressed with my brother too, now that I know a little more about this," Ginny said. "I guess Harry Potter is pretty amazing like I've heard."

"Ginny, I want you to listen to me very carefully," Lupin said, looking firm now. "I know how much you look up to Harry without even knowing him. But from this story you told me I can tell he will put himself into danger if he believes he has to. I know you've told me you are a Gryffindor and have that Gryffindor bravery, but I do not want you to put yourself into danger like your brother did for any reason. If something seems to be wrong or you're worried about anything, talk to one of the teachers. You can even send an owl. Can you promise me you will do everything to keep yourself safe this year when you go to school?"

Ginny hesitated only for a couple seconds. "I promise," she said softly.

Lupin stood up again. "I know you by now, and you're not one to worry about your own safety very much. I dread the thought of something happening to you because you thought it was your responsibility to help your brother or for any other reason."

"You can trust me more than that," she whined. "I'm not that reckless."

"Really?" Lupin raised an eyebrow. "So you didn't almost fall into frozen water, burn yourself with a tampered muggle device, or nearly burn down my house?"

"Those don't count."

Lupin chuckled as he began pulling some sprouting flutterby bushes out of the ground. Ginny smiled despite herself and knelt down to help him.

Soon Ron and all of Ginny's brothers were home for the summer. Ginny spent most of her free time talking to Ron to hear all of the stories he could tell about his year. It turned out everything Lupin had guessed was true about Ron's adventure with the stone.

The summer months went by very fast. Between enjoying the warm outdoor weather and having her brothers home again to talk to, it made the time go very quick. Ron had mentioned Harry might spend some of the summer at the burrow, and Ginny was excited and nervous about seeing the boy who lived in person at her own house.

Only Ron hadn't heard anything from him to plan this.

June turned into July, and still weeks went by without any sign Harry Potter existed. During the last week of July, Ginny overheard Fred, George, and Ron discussing the possibility of going to Privet Drive to check on him. She seriously thought about helping them plan, but decided it was best to not get involved. It wasn't worth getting in trouble for it.

One morning in early August, Ginny woke up to the sound of her mom's yelling. She went downstairs to find her brothers had followed through with their plan to go to Privet Drive. Ginny came downstairs and was face to face with Harry.

An hour later, she was on her way to the woods, with her head buzzing and heart still pounding. She couldn't believe she had actually seen him. He wasn't quite what she imagined he would look like with baggy clothes and an almost starved look about him. But it was still Harry Potter in her house.

She told Lupin the story of how her brothers rescued him as soon as they started through the woods.

"I'm truly glad to hear Harry's ok," Lupin said after hearing the entire story. "I'm also glad to hear you didn't take any part in illegally flying your dad's car, right?"

"No, I decided not to get involved," she said earnestly. "See, I'm not a brat all the time."

"Glad to hear it," he replied with a smile.

Ginny spent the day daydreaming and not really paying attention to what was going on. As the day progressed Ginny would wander progressively further away from Lupin. She was enjoying the forest, flowers, and trees while she continued to wrap her mind around her encounter with a boy she had heard about for years.

"Ginny," Lupin said sharply from several yards away. She suddenly realized just how far away she was getting. "Don't get too far away from me, you never know what could be out here, and you don't have a wand."

"Sorry," Ginny said meekly, returning to his side.

"That's alright, just remember I'm focusing on other things and can't constantly look to see where you are."

Ginny nodded and became more conscientious of where she was going. But it didn't last long. She was imagining what a conversation would be like between just her and Harry when she looked up to see she as alone in her area of the woods.

"Remus?" Ginny called hesitantly. She didn't like being away from him in the woods. She already knew about the possible dangers.

After she walked a few feet toward the cabin, she could hear an odd buzzing noise nearby. She was pretty sure she recognized the sound as excited Cornish pixies. She didn't know what they could be up to, since Lupin had told her they generally only buzzed and got excited when they were teasing a weaker creature. When she found him, she would have to tell Lupin about this area. First she was curious to find out why the pixies were so excited.

When she got closer to the buzzing she saw it was indeed Cornish pixies. But they weren't chasing a gnome or fairy, but instead it was a man. By his terror and clothes he looked like he might even have been a muggle.

Unfortunately people had better eyesight than pixies. So even though Ginny was a safe enough distance from the pixies to not be seen, the muggle had spotted her moving through the trees.

"Help me," he cried in a strangled voice, trying to run away from the excited pixies. "I don't know what's going on," he screamed. He began running towards her, and that was enough to get the pixies to notice her too.

Ginny knew she was now in trouble. Not only were a bunch of pixies coming to attack her, but a terrified and confused muggle was running right at her as well. Lupin had told her scared muggles could actually be very dangerous, since they would be very confused and not thinking right.

She turned to run as fast away from the area as fast as she could, and suddenly many things happened at once. Ginny felt a strange feeling move through her, and a sudden bright flash of light exploded around her and stunned the pixies. She somehow knew the light had come from her, and it was even the simple spell she knew to use.

Right after this the muggle began screaming that she was a wicked child with evil powers and seemed madder than ever as he ran at her. He was bigger than her and was closing the distance fast. Right as he was nearly on top of her she felt herself fly through the air and heard a scream of "Stupify!" from somewhere near her.

Next thing she knew she was sitting on a very high tree branch and Lupin was there on the ground pointing his wand at the unconscious muggle.

Lupin looked around. "Ginny, are you alright? where are you?" He sounded very worried.

"I'm up here," she called with as strong a voice as she could, still trying to catch her breath.

Lupin looked up and his face relaxed with relief. "How did you get up there?"

"I don't know, but I think I'm stuck."

"Don't worry, I can get you down," Lupin said reassuringly. He pointed his wand at her and said, "Desendio," and Ginny felt herself slip off the branch and fall slowly towards the ground.

Once she was back on her own feet she ran to Lupin and hugged him. "That was scary," she muttered into him.

"How did you get separated from me?" he asked somewhat sternly.

Ginny felt her mouth go dry. "Um, I guess I wasn't paying attention again," she nearly whispered.

"I think you and I are going to talk about this after I take care of this man," Lupin said firmly. Ginny didn't have time to argue, because Lupin moved his attention to the muggle.

He pointed his wand at the man and muttered the awakening spell. The man's eyes fluttered open and he sat up. His eyes locked on Ginny, and before Lupin could say a word the muggle was on his feet ready to attack her.

Ginny was already scared and anxious from getting lost and attacked, as well as the possible threat of punishment. She stood frozen with fear. Before anything could happen, Lupin calmly stepped in front of her, blocking the muggle's path to her.

"That girl behind you isn't human," the man panted at Lupin. "Everything has been so strange today."

"You will leave her alone and forget about her," Lupin said clearly. "She won't hurt you. I actually have a few questions I want to ask."

Lupin waited patiently until the muggle's eyes looked away from Ginny and gave their complete attention to him. "What is the last normal thing you remember before things became strange?" Lupin asked softly. Ginny was impressed at how calm Lupin could remain in a situation like this. It made her feel safer, because he seemed in control.

"I was camping in Stony Creek campground and I saw an old hat lying nearby. I picked it up, and all of a sudden strange small creatures were chasing me in the strange forest, and that girl…" He trailed off, losing control to his fear and confusion.

"Obliviate," Lupin said quickly as the muggle took another step toward Ginny. "I'm going to return him to his campground. He will be fine now that his memory of all this is erased. I will also have to report the portkeye left in a muggle campground," Lupin was talking to himself now. "Probably another group of wizards were trying to have some fun with unsuspecting muggles again."

He turned to Ginny. "Wait here until I return," he said quietly. "I will only be a few seconds."

Ginny shivered at the obvious anger in his quiet voice. True to his word, Lupin returned in under a minute, and immediately started walking toward his house.

"Come with me," he said shortly without looking at her.

Ginny numbly followed behind, weighing her possibilities to escape the punishment she was sure Lupin was planning. She could run, but knew that would make things far worse. Her next option she could think of was changing his mind.

"Please don't spank me," she whined, walking beside him. "I can explain."

"What explanation can you give for not paying attention and letting yourself get separated from me?" Lupin asked quietly, without slowing.

"I've just been thinking about what my brothers did last night," she replied weakly.

"That is not an excuse for not paying attention and it is definitely not a reason for me to feel I can let this go."

Ginny couldn't think of anything else to say that could possibly help her situation, so she fell silent for the rest of the walk to the house. Once there, Lupin grabbed the cutting board and sat on the kitchen chair. Ginny hovered near the door.

"Come here please, so we can get this out of the way," Lupin said in a surprisingly gentle voice for the trouble she was in. It was this tone of voice that got her walking without arguing. She walked until she was just beyond his reach and stopped there, not taking her eyes off the cutting board still in his hands. "Do you fully understand why I'm angry with you, and why you are about to be punished?" he asked softly.

"Because I didn't pay attention," Ginny mumbled to her feet. "But I don't think I deserve that," she indicated the cutting board, "or a even a spanking at all."

"More than that, you put yourself in danger again, after I warned you to be more careful earlier today. I also told you shortly after we met two years ago that I expected you to be careful and not put yourself in danger, which is what you did today. Furthermore, you have already been punished for not listening well or paying attention in regards to your safety last year," Lupin tapped the cutting board so it turned into the paddle. "Your safety is the most important thing to me, and I'm hoping a little pain might help you remember some self preservation."

Before Ginny could complain about it being more than a little pain, Lupin reached out and grabbed her wrist. Ginny didn't even resist. After hearing Lupin say all that, it was hard to fight him. She had heard him say her safety was his top priority for her to be allowed to come to the woods. She thought she would rather be paddled than banned from having the chance to leave her house.

The first swat surprised her and made her jump. She hadn't been punished in a long time and wasn't prepared for the sting. She let out an involuntary whimper, squeezed her hands into fists, and closed her eyes. She was determined to take her punishment as maturely as she could this time.

But as the steady succession of spanks kept hitting the same spot, and the flaming sting intensified, she found it impossible to keep calm. She started to kick and squirm, and in response Lupin's arm became tighter around her waist.

"It hurts," she moaned between sobs, more out of impulsion and habit than anything else.

Lupin didn't respond, and his arm continued in the same steady pattern. That was when Ginny broke down completely. She stopped straining against Lupin's arm and hung limply and cried. She truly did feel mad at herself and guilty for breaking the very first rule Lupin had given her for a forth time. She had almost gotten hurt again.

It took Ginny a few minutes to become aware her punishment was over. When she felt Lupin's restraining arm release her, she let herself have a few minutes to calm down before pushing herself up. When she was fully standing she wiped her face and worked to catch her breath.

Lupin set the paddle on the table, stood up, and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry to have to punish you again," he said gently. "I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you while you were with me. It was a dangerous situation today, and you scared me half to death."

"I'm sorry too," Ginny nearly whispered as she returned the hug. "I know I need to be more careful."

"Come on, lets get something to drink," Lupin said after a couple minutes. He pulled away and went to pour two cups of water. "I don't have much to drink," he admitted as he pointed his wands at the cups to make the water colder, "but this should be refreshing in this heat."

After each of them had a cup of icy cold water, they both moved to the couch. Ginny had to sit gingerly, but she managed to find a comfortable position. "It was lucky timing," Ginny said brightly after a couple silent moments. "You got there just in time to stun those pixies and levitate me to the tree."

"But I didn't do either. You used your own wandless magic," he said. Ginny wasn't sure, but she thought she could hear some pride in his voice. "You're going to make one powerful witch."

"You mean I was able to do those things? I could have sworn you did that." She knew kids often showed signs of magic before going to school, but she was still surprised she used the correct spell against the pixies without a wand.

"All I can say is you better work hard in school. You can go places and do almost anything you want." Lupin smiled, and now Ginny was sure she could hear the pride in his voice.

She returned the smile. "Don't worry, I will definitely work hard."


	16. Letters

_This chapter kind of took on a mind of it's own. With the way I ended this one, I'm not quite sure what will happen next..._

_Anyway, here's my next chappy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 16: Letters<strong>

_Remus,_

_The trip to school went pretty well, and now I'm writing this in my dormitory  
>after relaxing in my bed for a little while. I told you I would get sorted into<br>Gryffindor, and I was right by the way._

_ I'm really excited to begin classes tomorrow, I just can't sleep. The castle  
>isn't something that can be described in words, so I'm still in awe from<br>seeing it for the first time. _

_My brother did something very reckless once again. He flew my dad's car,  
>but this time he flew it to school and crashed it into a tree. He's lucky to<br>not be expelled. But I had nothing to do with his crazy plan, just so you  
>know, so you should know I didn't break my promise. I've still been perfectly good.<em>

_I'm missing the woods already. Students aren't allowed in the forest here, but  
>I'm a little tempted to go anyway just to explore a little. Can't believe how fast<br>the summer went by, but I should be back for Christmas!_

_Ginny_

Ginny folded her letter and set it on her bedside table. She would mail it tomorrow after school. Writing the letter had only passed a little time, and she didn't feel very sleepy. She had promised Lupin she would try to be good yesterday when she saw him for the last time before school, otherwise she would have considered going for a night walk to mail the letter.

'Yesterday', Ginny thought as she rolled over in bed and got more comfortable. It had been a sad goodbye. She knew it would be a long time until she was home again. But she also knew there was plenty to do now in school to keep her busy.

* * *

><p>The weeks seemed to pass slowly, and the last weekend in October Ginny could be found in her bed as the sun sank behind the trees. She had a piece a paper in her hands, absently reading her letter from Lupin by the light of her last Christmas gift he had given her.<p>

Ginny,

_Hopefully you got some sleep your first night, and I also greatly hope you  
>didn't go wandering at night to mail my letter. It got to me pretty fast. <em>

_But it is good to hear you're enjoying school, and congratulations on making  
>it into Gryffindor. I have to say I'm not surprised to hear the news. I know<br>you'll make a great addition to the house, and do very well with your classes. _

_I heard about your brother and Harry flying the car to school in the papers. It  
>wasn't a very smart decision on his part or Harry's. I believe you when you say<br>you had no part in the car adventure, and I'm glad you weren't. _

_ I'm once again going to use this time in the letter to ask you to not do anything  
>reckless and put yourself in danger. If I hear anything about you entering the<br>forbidden forest, I promise you will not be sitting comfortably the next time I  
>see you. I cannot even begin to explain the many dangers that hide within<br>those trees. _

_Work has been going well still over here, although it has been a bit too quiet  
>without you lately. I do have some new stories you will probably love to hear when<br>I see you again._

_ Remus_

Ginny finally folded the letter and sighed. She already had read this letter four times. She had also been to the edge of the forest three times. Each time, Remus' not so subtle warning stopped her from stepping inside the shade of the trees to explore the quiet nature of the woods. She loved school, but sometimes she just wanted a calm dark place to remind her of home, and to be alone and think.

Ginny pulled her diary closer to her and began to write. She had been feeling a bit homesick lately, and this diary had been a great comfort to her. There was even some charm on it so it would talk back to her. This night she described her desire to enter the forest, her difficulties in potions and history of magic, and her difficulties making friends. The diary would always answer back and try to give helpful advice. She had no idea where it came from, but didn't question it out of fear of having it taken away.

* * *

><p><em>Remus,<em>

_I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been a  
>little stressed lately, and I guess I just have not gotten to it. <em>

_Unfortunately I don't even know what to write about. Time  
>seems to be going by way too fast, and things are going by in<br>a blur. I'm not even sure what happened on Halloween, I think  
>I was half asleep on that day. <em>

_Anyway, I'm not sure if I will be home for the holidays. My  
>brothers are all thinking about staying, and I feel like I'd be<br>a burden if I came home. _

_I hope everything is going well for you. _

_ Ginny_

Ginny took a deep breath. It had been hard to write that letter. For some reason she had been feeling more and more disconnected from everyone. She hadn't been writing at all to her parents, and had given a long gap from her last letter to Lupin. She wasn't sure if it was the attacks on the muggle born students or something else, but she did know something was bothering her.

* * *

><p><em>Ginny,<em>

_I have been anxiously waiting for your next owl, and when it  
>finally came I have to admit it only has made me even more<br>worried. I know you enough that I can tell with absolute  
>certainty that something is wrong. Something is bothering you<br>besides the basic first year home-sickness. I can't force you to  
>tell me what is wrong, but I am encouraging you to let me know.<br>I may be able to help. _

_I know there have been reports of extreme danger at Hogwarts.  
>Please be careful, and try to keep your spirits and hopes of getting<br>this solved high. Remember professor Dumbledore is there, and he  
>is one of the best wizards in history. He will help to keep the school<br>safe. If something beyond this is bothering you (and I suspect there  
>is something else), you can talk to me about it at any time. I promise<br>I will listen and do my best to help. _

_On a lighter note, I am quite sure I spotted Godric wondering about  
>the other day. He had the same exact grey marking around his eyes<br>as the niffler we helped last Christmas. He looks well and healthy,  
>and I thought you might like to know. <em>

_Please do not feel like you will be a burden if you decided to come home  
>over the holidays. I'm sure your parents would love to have you home<br>again. Coming home, and even getting some time in the woods may help  
>clear your mind. I would love to see you again and make sure you're alright<br>as well. I only ask that you think carefully about your decision about the  
>holidays, and possibly reconsider your previous decision. <em>

_Hang in there, and stay strong. _

_ Remus_

It was this letter that Ginny had clutched in her hand as she boarded the train to go home. Lupin's gentle worried tone in the letter had been just enough to persuade her to realize she really did want to go home, even if it meant being the only one in her family to do so. She really did need some time to clear her head.

The first thing she did when she got home was catch up on some much needed sleep. Being home did relax her, and so much stress was eased away that she didn't even feel the need to write obsessively in her diary like she did in school. As the days quickly led up to Christmas, Ginny began to quickly feel completely normal again.

She had been waiting to visit Lupin again. He didn't know she had decided to come home, so it would be fun to surprise him. But somehow the thought made her a little nervous. He was surely going to ask about what was wrong and worry too much. She was going to have to convince him she was fine now. She planned to visit him on Christmas day, after she had completely unwound and relaxed.

Normally Ginny would have complained about the boring beginning of Christmas. It was very quiet without any of her brothers at home. Ginny was able to spend a peaceful enjoyable Christmas morning with her parents, and she loved it. The peace and boredom was something she needed. After lunch, Ginny announced she was going to the woods to visit Lupin. She grabbed her gift she had made for him, draped it over a broom, and took off towards the woods.

She wasn't surprised to find he wasn't home. It was the usual time for him to be working, and she knew very well he didn't get Christmas off. Her plan was to search for him, and if she couldn't find him she planned to wait until he returned. It was nice to be alone in the woods anyway. It was a good place and time to think.

After spending a while searching with no luck, Ginny decided to wait by the cabin. He would return eventually, and she could be patient in the meantime. Without meaning to, her mind wondered to school. Things were not nearly as pleasant as she had hoped. Panic, worry, confusion, and a general sense of something being wrong was all she associated with Hogwarts. Somehow she felt she had something to do with the attacks on the muggle borns. Why couldn't she remember what she had been doing on those nights?

Ginny suddenly snapped back to where she was with a sense of urgency. It was getting dark very quickly, and Lupin had still not returned. She had forgotten in the winter how quickly it grew dark. It was the bright light shining off the full moon that made it seem is light as it was.

She decided to leave her present since it was wrapped in plastic to stay safe and dry. That way she wouldn't have to bring it with her again tomorrow. She hid it in a pile of snow nearby, hopped on her broom and sadly made to leave. She had really been hoping to see Lupin and surprise him on Christmas. She would have to try again tomorrow.

She was on her way back, when she noticed a dark shape below her. With excitement she recognized Lupin. She knew she would probably get in trouble for being here in the dark, but it would be worth it for a quick greeting before she left.

But when she got closer it quickly became apparent something was very wrong.

Lupin's face was contorted in what looked either like extreme pain or uncontrollable anger. His entire body was writhing, and it almost looked like he was swelling. Ginny blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing things correctly in the darkness, but Lupin's body was definitely increasing in size.

Ginny was in such terror and confusion she couldn't move or make a sound. She was sure Lupin was dying right in front of her. But she felt so numb and light headed. It was too much to take in.

The hair raising high pitched howl brought Ginny back to her senses. She blinked again and saw a large misshapen wolf was standing where Lupin had just been. The connection wasn't hard to make, even for Ginny's frozen mind, to fully understand what had just happened.

Thankfully, Lupin had not seen her above the trees on her broom. He ran away, probably in search of something to eat. Even as a wolf Lupin looked thin, discolored, and unhealthy.

With one last wide-eyed glance at the bright silver moon, Ginny sped off toward home, moving in the opposite direction of the rustling and snapping leaves and branches.

As she approached her house, Ginny was sure she heard another faint howl. Or maybe it had been her racing and frantic imagination. Even though she was now sweating in her winter coat, Ginny couldn't suppress a shiver.


	17. Explanations

_So I finally got the next chapter finished. I'm in a bit a sticky spot for writing, but I am confident after the next couple chapters it will be easier to write again. I'll to trying to get the next update a but faster._

* * *

><p><strong>Explanations<strong>

It explained so much.

The over protectiveness, the fearfulness of the baby unicorn toward Lupin, the reason Lupin had trouble getting a good job, and the reason he was so adamant Ginny was not allowed to see him at night. All the times Lupin had forbidden her from seeing him on certain days probably had something to do with him being a werewolf as well. The days Lupin told her not to come had probably always fallen on a full moon. Ginny had just never paid enough attention.

It felt horrible knowing Lupin's secrete. Ginny knew it was not something she was supposed to know. Lupin would probably be so furious with her he would spank the life right out of her. Or even worse (Ginny couldn't believe she was thinking this), he wouldn't. Maybe he would be so mad he would tell her to leave and to never see him again. It would be the worst thing possible for him to decide putting his time into punishing her was wasted effort, and forget about her forever.

Ginny groaned quietly as she lay and moped in bed. It was late in the morning, almost eleven. Ginny had not yet gotten out of bed, even though she had woken up at dawn. She stretched and rolled over in her bed so she could look out the window. Her thoughts shifted as she thought about it more.

As hard as it was for Ginny to think about Lupin having something he feared, maybe he would be afraid Ginny wouldn't want to be around him anymore because of what he was. Maybe that was why he had always kept the secrete so tightly hidden. Ginny rolled over again and threw her face into her pillow. It was too hard and confusing to think about. She would have to get up soon, she was getting very stiff.

Miserably she dragged herself out of bed and got ready for the day. After her hair was combed and she was dressed, she slowly made her way downstairs. She wasn't sure what she planned to do.

"Well good morning, sleeping beauty," Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully as Ginny entered the kitchen. "You're up just in time for lunch."

Ginny didn't respond. She wasn't particularly hungry. But she didn't want a reason for her parents to notice something was bothering her. So as a hot lunch of home-made soup was dished out to her, she didn't complain. She slowly forced herself to finish her bowl as her parents chatted.

"You seem tired," Mr. Weasley said as Mrs. Weasley cleared off the table. "Did you not sleep well?"

"I went to bed late," Ginny said quietly.

Mrs Weasley waved her wand so the dishes began washing themselves. "You must have been back a couple hours before dinner. Well before dark. So then why were you up late?"

"I have a ton of holiday homework I was getting done," Ginny lied easily. She internally cringed at how easy it still was. "I'm going to go finish it now. Don't expect to see me until dinner."

"Wouldn't you like to stay down here?" Mr. Weasley called after her.

Ginny ignored her, and without another word she left her parents and ran up to her room. It was still so surprisingly easy to keep her thoughts and actions secrete from both her parents. Lupin would be so mad at her if he saw how she was treating her parents and lying to them.

"I have to go see him," Ginny muttered to herself after noticing how her thoughts had shifted to him again. She couldn't take the stress and having to lie to her parents anymore. She waited until she was sure Lupin would be home, then quietly snuck back downstairs and out the back door without being noticed. Then, not for the first time, Ginny grabbed a broom and flew toward the woods without permission.

When she arrived her nerves caused her to hesitate. After everything that had been going on in school, her continuous rule-breaking since yesterday, and her discovery from last night she wasn't sure how seeing Lupin again would go. She felt like there was so much to talk about.

Finally she took a deep breath and tapped on the door.

Ginny heard his footsteps. With so many conflicting emotions she almost felt numb and stood rigid as the door slowly opened.

There was a moment of complete silence while Lupin looked at her in disbelief. "Ginny?" he said in a raspy tired voice. Ginny was startled to see how sick he looked. She thought she might not look much better.

"I had no idea you were home!" he finally exclaimed, becoming more himself and alert. He came forward and hugged her. Ginny hugged him back, feeling much of the tension and anxiety she had been feeling slightly melt away. She suddenly felt a strange urge to burst into tears.

"Unfortunately you caught me on a day that I'm not feeling well. I even had to skip my work today," Lupin said quietly as he closed the door. Ginny shivered, understanding the reason Lupin was not at perfect health.

"But come sit, and I'll make some tea. I know it's quite cold in here," Lupin said gently. Ginny couldn't help but smile from the familiarity of everything. She sat quietly at the table while Lupin threw wood in the fire and prepared two steaming cups of dark tea.

"Tell me what's on your mind," Lupin said when they were both sitting at the small table with their drinks. He looked closely at her face. "I can tell something is definitely bothering you."

Ginny couldn't hold back the tears any longer at the look of concern in Lupin's eyes. She curled her knees in while she cried softly so she was hugging them on the small wooden chair. "There's too much to tell," she moaned softly into her knees.

Lupin got up and knelt next to Ginny and pulled her legs away from her chest so she was sitting straight. Then he picked up her cup of tea and pushed it into her hand. "Take a drink and a few deep breaths," he said gently next to her.

Ginny took a few gulps and a few breaths and quickly got herself under control. She looked up through red tired eyes. "I really don't know what to tell you first or how to tell it," she said quietly.

Silently Lupin took Ginny's hand and led her to the couch where they both sat. "Why don't we sit where it's more comfortable and just talk," Lupin suggested. "I haven't heard much about your classes."

Ginny frowned, "Don't you want to hear what's bothering me?"

"Of course I do," Lupin said quickly. "It's tearing me apart to see you hurt so much about something. But focusing on that will only bring on more anxiety, because I can tell whatever is wrong isn't some small thing you want to tell me. I'd rather we both relax a little, and start from the beginning." There were a few moments of silence which allowed Ginny to completely regain control of her emotions and relax. "What is your favorite class at school," Lupin said softly, breaking the silence.

Ginny relaxed slightly and paused a minute before answering. "At first it was transfiguration, but I also liked herbology which was surprising. But now I'd say charms," Ginny said quietly. "I'm doing well in that class right now."

"How is Professor McGonagal? Is she still as strict as ever?" Lupin continued casually.

"Yeah I'd say so. The first day in November she didn't even care that I hadn't been feeling well the day before, and was still almost going to give me a detention for forgetting my book. She's been trying to pry into my life a little, and that class hasn't been as much as a favorite since then," Ginny said, realizing she had said a little more than she wanted. It was so easy and natural to answer Lupin's questions.

"Tell me about Halloween," Lupin pressed in a very relaxed and almost careful voice. "I recall something about that day from your last letter."

Ginny stared at her knees for a long while, and Lupin waited patiently without pushing her further. "I don't know what's been wrong with me," she finally said. "I mean I don't remember that day at all, and then I found out something horrible happened when I can't remember what I was doing." Ginny took a deep breath, "What if I have something to do with the muggle attacks at the school." A silent tear ran down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away.

"Ginny, listen to me carefully," Lupin said firmly. He waited until Ginny looked at him before continuing. "You would never do that, and if an evil force is somehow using you, it is not your fault. Do you understand that?"

Ginny nodded.

"I need you to carefully think about your posesions, and know that none of them are a bit strange. This could mean whatever it is makes you feel different when you're around it. Maybe it makes you tired, or depressed, or happy just to hold it. Or maybe it behaves in a way the object shouldn't normally. Do you have anything like that?"

Immediately Ginny thought of her diary. She had already known in the back of her mind there was something wrong with it. But she felt she needed it too much once school started to give it up. "No, nothing I can think of," Ginny said quietly.

Lupin took her hands. "Look at me please," he said sternly.

Relunctantly Ginny looked into his warm brown eyes.

"I know you well enough to know perfectly well you are lying to me. You don't need to tell me what the object is, but please for your safety and for the rest of the school promise me you'll get rid of it?"

Ginny couldn't look at his concern any longer, and looked back at her knees. "I prmoise," she whispered.

A long moment passed by before Lupin spoke again. He gently squeezed her cold fingers he was still holding. "What was the other thing you wanted to talk about? I can tell there is something even bigger bothering you."

Ginny felt cold all over knowing this was the time to finally tell him. It was only making things worse to hold the secrete of what she knew any longer. She squeezed Lupin's hands very hard and closed her eyes. "I came to see you yesterday, to surprise you. But it got really late before I knew it and it was getting dark."

Ginny felt Lupin stiffen next to her. But she quickly pressed on, determined to finish now that she had started. "I was going to go home, but I saw you. I saw you transform. I know why you aren't feeling well today. I never wanted to find out about your secrete this way."

Everything was still and quiet for a very long time. It felt like an effort to keep breathing slowly and not hyperventilate The silence was so uncomfortable that eventually Ginny spoke again. "I promise this changes nothing for me. I'm not afraid of you, and I don't think any differently of you. It makes things better even, since I now know why I can't come here certain days."

"Do you mean that?" Lupin asked quietly.

"You said yourself you know when I'm lying," Ginny insisted. It was strange to Ginny to see Lupin show this lack of confidence.

"I was just always so worried if you knew what I was that you'd be afraid of, or even repulsed by me."

"I'm not, I promise," Ginny said sincerely "I'm actually glad I know. There aren't secretes between us anymore." It was then that Ginny realized the relief of her own words. She was no longer hiding anything from Lupin. There was only one small thing still bothering her. "I'm not in trouble though for being here late yesterday, am I?"

Lupin looked at her sternly. "I'm not very happy about you putting yourself in danger like that," he said firmly. "But with everything that's been going on, I'm not going to push this one. I know there has been too much stress for you right now, and I wouldn't feel right to add to it."

Ginny felt relief, and for some strange reason a faint hint of disappointment. But she wouldn't be sitting uncomfortably tonight. "Thanks for helping me out tonight," Ginny said softly.

"Just don't forget about your promise," Lupin reminded her.

Ginny nodded, knowing the diary was now something else she needed to take care of.

Somehow, Ginny's visit with Lupin the day after Christmas had made her feel both a lot better and a little worse. She truly felt better after knowing more about Lupin and having the feeling of no more secretes between them. But she felt worse in the way that she almost felt neglected by him.

She knew he hadn't been quite himself then after it was so recently after the full moon. But somehow his exhaustion had made it feel like he had only solved things halfway. She knew he wasn't still happy with her being out at night and being in danger like that. Any other time she would have gotten the paddling of a lifetime. She still felt really guilty about knowing what Lupin was, and had the feeling she wasn't quite forgiven.

Then there was the problem of the diary. She also felt it was unlike Lupin to not push her to know something like what a dangerous object she had in her possession might have been. She thought it would be more realistic for him to make her bring the diary to him so he could destroy it or examine it himself. But he had left her alone about it, and Ginny had still not done anything about it.

But overall Ginny did feel a lot better than she had in a long time. In the days left of her holiday break she spent her time with Lupin again, just like she used to. They each gave each other the Christmas gifts they had made. Ginny gave Lupin the warm blanket she had safetly hidden in the snow (which had gotten a little wet and frozen despite it's protection, but Lupin was quickly able to thaw it out), and Lupin gave Ginny another homemade creation.

"I thought you might like it after you mentioned wanting to go into the forbidden forest," Lupin explained.

Ginny looked at it closely. It was a glass box, and inside were real tiny plants. There were evergreens and ferns, and even tiny pine cones and snow. She suddenly saw a tiny real looking unicorn gallop through the trees. "This in amazing," she said, not able to take her eyes off her mini forest.

"It was another tricky one to make," Lupin admitted. "But I was able to use a reducto charm on real plant life from this forest and replant them in here. Then I put several charms on it to keep an ecosystem going and keep the plant life alive. There's another charm that will show magical creatures in there once in a while but they aren't real." Lupin smiled," I made sure the unicorn would come out most often."

"Thanks a lot, I truly love it," she said, finally able to tear her eyes away.

"Just do me the favor of not stepping into the forbidden forest," Lupin replied, still smiling.

Ginny nodded. "I won't need to now," she said happily.

* * *

><p>All too soon the holidays were over. Ginny had to return to the stress and worry she now associated with Hogwarts. New rumors were now spreading that Hermione Granger, one of her brother's friends, had been petrified by Harry Potter on Christmas. But Ron had told her it was not true, and everyone was just assuming since Hermione was in the hospital wing and her condition did not permit anyone to see her. Whatever it was.<p>

Ginny thought a lot about the promise she had made to Lupin. For a week she spent each night watching her personal forest and internally fighting with herself to either open the diary and write in it some more like she desperately wanted to, or to keep Lupin's promise and dispose of it.

Then one afternoon while she was alone in her dormitory she felt the urge to open it was so strong it was like an addiction. It felt like the book was calling to her. She almost had it open with a quill in her hand when she impulsively threw the book across the room. It was that moment she knew something had to be done.

She grabbed the diary and walked quickly out of the common room and to the haunted bathroom nobody went in. Without looking she opened the door, threw it as hard as she could, and ran. She hoped it would just stay in that unused bathroom forever and rot. She walked away from the empty bathroom with a feeling of relief and accomplished.


End file.
